PATNA: Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor has disclosed that he would not contest the Bihar assembly elections scheduled to be held in two phases on November 6 and 11.
Speculations were rife over him contesting from the Raghopur assembly seat against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) two-term MLA and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.
On Tuesday, JSP fielded Chanchal Singh as its candidate from the Raghopur seat. JSP has so far announced 117 candidates for the upcoming election.
Kishor said, “The party has decided that I should not contest the election. So, the party has fielded another candidate from Raghopur. I will focus on the election strategy and strengthening the party’s support base.”
He clarified that if he had contested elections, his attention would have been diverted from the essential work of the organisation and added that this decision has been taken in the larger interest of the party.
About his party’s poll prospects, Kishor said that the party would either win a landslide victory or suffer a crushing defeat.
"I expect fewer than 10 seats or more than 150 seats. There is no possibility of anything in between,” he said.
It was also expected that Kishor would fight from Kargahar. However, the party decided to field Ritesh Pandey, a Bhojpur actor, from Kargahar.
On Wednesday, Tejashwi will file his nomination paper from Raghopur seeking his re-election for the third term.
Kishor had earlier predicted that Tejashwi would meet the same fate as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi faced in the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. JSP founder had also claimed that Tejashwi would contest from two seats if he was fielded as a candidate from Raghopur.
'Accepted defeat'
Opposition RJD took a dig at Kishor over his decision, saying "he had accepted defeat for his Jan Suraaj Party even before going to the battlefield.
"Earlier in the day, Jan Suraaj Party founder Kishor announced that he would not contest the polls, a decision, he claimed, was taken by the party in the larger interest. In an exclusive interview with PTI, Kishor had also said that a "tally of less than 150 seats" for his party would be considered a defeat.
Reacting to his remarks, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwary told PTI, "Kishor has realised that he and his party will face a humiliating defeat in the upcoming assembly polls. That is why he has announced that he will not contest. He has accepted defeat for the Jan Suraaj Party even before going to the battlefield."
Kishor must realise that politics is not as easy as providing consultancy to political parties, said Tiwary, adding, "Kishor's tyre has been flattened."
Echoing a similar view, Bihar BJP spokesperson Niraj Kumar told PTI, "Kishor's bubble burst even before the elections. By announcing that he won't contest, he has admitted defeat for himself and his party. They will face a humiliating defeat in the polls."
JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said Kishor's decision was a "humiliation" for his party workers.
"He has run away before the electoral battle. Earlier, he claimed to have undertaken pad-yatras to understand the people's issues. What happened to that? His decision is sheer embarrassment for his workers," he told PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
