Picture : ANI/X
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has rejected possibilities of joining any political alliance, and claimed that his victory in the Bankipur assembly bypoll was made possible ‘with backing of’ disgruntled supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, while Gen Z protests may also have played a role.
Kishor, who wrested the BJP stronghold on his electoral debut, also claimed that the vote was ‘essentially against’ Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
The Jan Suraaj Party leader was talking to reporters after defeating the BJP’s Neeraj Kumar by over 19,000 votes in Bankipur which the BJP had been winning since 1995.
“We shall have no alliance. Our alliance shall be with the people of Bihar. You should see that the people of Bankipur have voted for us, giving up on established parties,” said Kishor when he was asked about the possibility of a rethink on his earlier stance of going it alone in elections.
He said he would not make tall promises like converting Bankipur into Bengaluru, but as an MLA, he would try to improve things, and changes will be there for all to see in a few months.
With his victory, the Jan Suraaj Party, which has been accused of being a ‘B team of BJP’, will have its maiden presence in the Bihar assembly.
“I would like to thank my active supporters as well as those who backed me in the by-election, despite not being with Jan Suraaj. I received support from people in BJP, Congress and RJD, who were unhappy with the state of affairs in their party,” Kishor said.
The former poll strategist whose fledgling outfit had drawn a blank in last year’s assembly election also said that the ‘atmosphere created by Gen Z protests’ might have played a role in Tuesday’s poll result.
“But there is nothing to show that young electors had voted in large numbers in Bankipur. It is unfortunate, but that is the reality,” said Kishor, referring to the less than 35 per cent turnout of July 30, the polling day.
