“Don’t want to be leader of party…will release agenda next year”: Prashant Kishor ahead of launch of Jan Suraaj

Patna: Ahead of the launch of Jan Suraaj as a political party on October 2, its founder and election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Monday said that he does not want to become the leader of the party, adding that next year, in January or February, the party will release its agenda for Bihar.

“At the beginning of the Jan Suraaj campaign, it was said that an important aim of this is to end the political helplessness under which in the last 25-30 years people voted for the BJP out of fear for Lalu Prasad due to the lack of any alternative. For this, the people of Bihar need to form a better alternative…That alternative should be a part of all the people of Bihar who want to form this together. So, in a way, one phase of that 2 to 2.5-year-long campaign is coming to an end. As a result, more than 1 crore people in Bihar will together formally announce this party on 2nd October. The name of the party, the Constitution, its provisions, & its leadership will be announced. I have always said that I do not want to be the leader of the party,” Kishor told ANI.

“The biggest challenge is not to form a party or elect a president. I think winning elections is not the biggest challenge either. The biggest challenge is to awaken society,” he added.

He further said that he would encourage people not to vote under pressure from misguided leaders and to vote for their children for education and employment.

“The party is being formed; in February and March 2025, we will release the party’s agenda. The blueprint and vision for Bihar will be launched. These are important steps. My dream is to not form the party and win the elections but my dream is to make the Bihar state that the people from Jharkhand, Haryana, come here and work here. This is my dream and we are working towards that,” he said.

When asked about Bihar CM-JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and his “being run by 4 retired advisors” for the CM, the Jan Suraaj founder said that the JD(U) has “no future.”

“When JD(U) won’t even remain, what is the question about his successor? I had been a part of JD(U) and worked with Nitish Kumar. The capital of JD(U) is Nitish Kumar. When capital would end, how would the company run on interest? It won’t continue. The party has no future. As far as advisors are concerned, ask anyone in Bihar, and they will say that there is a ‘jungle raj’ of officers. How did this happen?… In the past few years, instead of his MLAs, ministers, and workers, Nitish Kumar has handed over the entire system to 2-4 of his advisors. I wish him good health, but people say that he is not very active as far as his physical and mental conditions are concerned. So, his advisors are running everything. They are people who are not answerable to anyone because they are retired officers,” he said.

Earlier on July 28, Prashant Kishor announced that he would launch a new political party on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2.

The assembly elections in Bihar are likely to be held in October-November 2025.