Bihar Bypoll: Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj struggles, fails to win any seat

Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj party failed to make an impact in the Bihar assembly bypolls, with all four of its candidates losing. Three of them even lost their security deposits.

Jan Suraaj had announced plans to contest all four assembly seats in its debut electoral battle. During the party's launch on October 2, Prashant Kishor stated his intention to field candidates for all 243 seats in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

Despite failing to secure any victories in their first attempt, Kishor expressed that he remains undeterred by the outcome.

“Our party is just a month old, and we got the symbol ten days before the polls. The elections were held where there was no Jan Suraaj Yatra and party was building base. Still we got overall 10% vote share,” said Kishor.

“I take responsibility for poor performance. Votes percentage was less than expected. But I will not back out and will continue my effort to increase it to 40% whether it takes one year of five years,” he added and appealed to party workers not to get disheartened.

"RJD is a 30-year-old party. The son of its state president finished third. Can Jan Suraaj be faulted for that? In Belaganj all Muslim votes went to the JD(U) candidate. In Imamganj, the Jan Suraaj cut into NDA votes. Else, the victory margin of (Union minister) Jitan Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha would have been bigger", asserted Kishor. Notably, Imamganj, a reserved seat, was retained by Manjhi's daughter-in-law Deepa, who defeated the RJD candidate by a thin margin of less than 6,000 votes. Jan Suraaj candidate Jitendra Paswan finished third, polling more than 37,000 votes

Prashant Kishor addressed concerns about his party, Jan Suraaj, performing poorly in the Bihar bypolls, where three of its four candidates secured less than one-sixth of the total votes, risking forfeiture of their deposits. Kishor dismissed this as "not a matter of concern" and instead criticized the ruling NDA for sweeping the polls despite its "failure" to uplift Bihar from its backwardness.

The IPAC founder, who briefly associated with JD(U), described Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a "spent force" and credited JD(U)'s success in the bypolls to individual candidates like former MLC Manorama Devi rather than party strength. He asserted, "Nitish Kumar is no factor. His party managed only 11 per cent of the total votes."

On Jan Suraaj's debut performance, Kishor noted that the party secured 10 per cent votes in constituencies where it had no prior presence, largely due to the fact that his padyatra had not reached those areas. Additionally, the party received its election symbol only after nominations were filed, which he believes affected visibility.

Kishor reaffirmed Jan Suraaj's plan to contest all 243 seats in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, emphasizing that the party would strengthen its organizational structure in the coming months. He added, "In a state where voting follows predictable caste patterns, securing 10 per cent votes in our first attempt is significant. We aim to improve our vote share in the future."