Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor File Photo | Express
Bihar

Prashant Kishor says BJP 'imposed' new Bihar CM; calls government formation 'undemocratic'

Kishor also alleged that the NDA’s 202-seat mandate in the Bihar Assembly elections had been secured “through the backdoor” by directly distributing money to people.

TNIE online desk

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Wednesday alleged that the BJP has “imposed” a new chief minister on Bihar and said the formation of the new government in the state was neither “democratic nor dignified”.

Speaking to reporters in Purnea, Kishor said the BJP had sidelined the public mandate that was secured in the name of Nitish Kumar.

“The BJP has imposed the chief minister in Bihar. People's mandate was received in the name of Nitish Kumar, but Samrat Choudhary has been made the CM through the back door. The manner in which the government has been formed is neither democratic nor dignified,” he said.

Kishor also alleged that the NDA’s 202-seat mandate in the Bihar Assembly elections had been secured “through the backdoor” by directly distributing money to people.

He claimed that the people of Bihar had been “cheated” because the NDA fought the elections with the slogan “25 se 30, fir se Nitish” but later changed its position.

"Ideally, in a democracy, they should have sought a new mandate for Samrat Choudhary, but we all know that won't happen," he said.

Kishor said it is up to the people to see how the new government performs.

"We just hope the NDA fulfils its lofty promises of one crore jobs, stopping migration, and building good schools in every block, among other things," he added.

The Jan Suraaj founder further raised questions about Choudhary's publicly disclosed educational qualifications and his past records.

"Bihar is the land of Chanakya and Aryabhatta, and entails the wisdom of Vikramshila and Nalanda. Now, the BJP, which talks about conduct, character and image, has given us this first gift—a chief minister whose educational qualifications and past record remain questionable," he said.

Since the 2025 Bihar election campaign, Kishor has been flagging alleged inconsistencies in Samrat Choudhary's publicly disclosed educational qualification and questioning the BJP leader's alleged involvement in a criminal case from the early 1990s.

Reflecting upon Jan Suraaj's electoral performance in the 2025 assembly elections, Kishor said that "not getting votes or losing an election is not a crime".

"Jan Suraaj did not engage in corruption or divide society in the name of caste or religion. We did not buy votes or conspired to appoint someone else as chief minister contrary to public mandate," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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