The assembly elections to be held in Bihar next year can be interesting. Election strategist Prashant Kishor’s party will also contest the elections this time. Prashant Kishor has announced that his Jan Suraj Abhiyan will become a political party on 2 October (Gandhi Jayanti) and will contest the Bihar assembly elections next year. Prashant is already implementing his strategy. Prashant is also eyeing the legacy of Jananayak Karpuri Thakur. On Sunday, his organization has made a big dent in JDU and has included five big faces in the organization. Prashant also got Karpuri Thakur’s granddaughter Dr. Jagriti Thakur entry in Jan Suraj. Its political meanings are being drawn.
Actually, Prashant Kishor has been preparing to enter the political arena for a long time. The interesting thing is that Prashant started the Jan Suraj Abhiyan in Bihar on 2 October 2022 and announced a 3500 km padayatra in the villages, cities and towns of the entire state in the next 12-15 months. Now he is going to announce a political party on the day of Gandhi Jayanti. When Prashant started the padayatra two years ago. At that time he had said that he has taken a firm resolve to change the system in the country’s poorest and backward state Bihar. First important step – With the help of society, we are starting a padayatra to create a new and better political system.
Jan Suraj campaign got tremendous support
Prashant has been seen continuously attacking the BJP-led NDA and the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan. His campaign has also received a lot of support. In 2023, 12 former Indian Police Service (IPS) officers who have held different positions in Bihar Police were also associated with the Jan Suraj campaign. Former IPS officers expressed confidence in changing the system of Bihar through Jan Suraj. Earlier, 6 former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers were also associated with Prashant Kishore’s Jan Suraj campaign.
Prashant will announce the party on October 2
On Sunday, Prashant Kishore addressed the state-level workshop of Jan Suraj. Prashant said that about one crore members will lay the foundation of Jan Suraj on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. The beginning will be made by nominating 1.50 lakh people as office bearers on the first day. He dismissed the controversy of leading Jan Suraj and said, he will not lead the party. But leaders will be elected from their respective constituencies who will strengthen the power of the people for the assembly elections to be held in the state. Prashant said, as said earlier, Jan Suraj will become a political party on October 2 and will contest the assembly elections next year. Who will lead the party will be decided at the appropriate time in the coming days.
Karpuri Thakur’s granddaughter became a part of Jan Suraj campaign
During this time, many people including two former MLAs and late socialist leader Karpoori Thakur’s granddaughter Jagriti Thakur became a part of the Jan Suraj campaign. Prashant welcomed Jagriti. Jagriti’s father Virendra Nath Thakur is the younger son of former Bihar Chief Minister and Bharat Ratna awardee Karpoori Thakur. Let us tell you that late Karpoori Thakur is seen as the guru of many big leaders of the state including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD President Lalu Prasad.
These big leaders are also involved in Jan Suraj campaign
Other prominent people who have joined Jan Suraj include former Bihar minister Monajir Hasan. Hasan has been associated with RJD as well as JD(U). He has been a part of Parliament as well as the state legislature and has had a long tenure. Apart from this, former RJD MLC Rambali Singh Chandravanshi has also joined the Jan Suraj campaign. Rambali Singh was recently disqualified from the Legislative Council on charges of indiscipline.
Similarly, former IPS officer Anand Mishra has also become a part of Jan Suraj. Anand was preparing to contest the Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket this year. He had also resigned from the post. However, later when he did not get a ticket from BJP, he contested the election as an independent from Buxar.
JDU leader Mangani Lal Mandal’s daughter Priyanka has also joined Jan Suraj. Mangani Lal has also been a former MP and former MLA of JDU.
Why is Prashant eyeing Karpuri Thakur’s legacy?
Karpoori Thakur has been the Chief Minister of Bihar twice. He was also called ‘Jananayak’. He died in 1988. After 36 years, he has been awarded India’s highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna. The Modi government at the Centre made this announcement just a day before Karpoori Thakur’s 100th birth anniversary this year. In Bihar, both Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav claim Karpoori Thakur’s political legacy. Karpoori Thakur’s elder son Ramnath Thakur is a Rajya Sabha MP from Nitish Kumar’s party JDU and is also a Minister of State in the Modi government. Karpoori Thakur belonged to Bihar’s extremely backward caste, Nai. Extremely backward castes are the largest caste group in Bihar. They constitute about 36 percent of the state’s population. After that, the second largest population is of the backward class, which is 27.12 percent of the state’s population. Every party has its eyes on this vote bank.
What will be the strategy regarding Jagriti Thakur?
It is believed that Karpoori Thakur’s younger son Virendra Nath Thakur is a doctor by profession. He retired last year. Virendra’s daughter Jagriti joining Jan Suraj can increase JDU’s tension. Jagriti is associated with her grandfather and in the coming days Prashant’s party will want to present her as Karpoori Thakur’s legacy. Since, a large part of Bihar’s OBC vote bank has been with Nitish and Lalu Yadav’s parties till now. Prashant Kishore, who is emerging as a new force in Bihar, is also busy making inroads among every section. If he succeeds, he can harm JDU, RJD and BJP.
Nitish Kumar is Prashant’s target…
Prashant Kishor highlighted the need for a political alternative and said, we will create such a system for our children that people will be surprised. This is because those who were earlier insulted by calling them ‘Bihari’ could create such a great system. Prashant said, I came here for his (Nitish Kumar) election campaign in 2015 and wanted to meet all his officials. I started his campaign on 2 June 2015, when there were 2,200 people in SK Memorial Hall. We will fill this hall (Bapu Sabhagar) 10 times. If we want to field only degree holders in the upcoming elections, will we get so many graduates? Prashant further said that this issue will be discussed in other similar meetings before reaching a final decision.
Know about Prashant Kishore…
Prashant Kishor (40 years) is the founder of political consulting company IPAC. He first came into the limelight when BJP got a great success in the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign. Prashant handled the election campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Later he also worked for Nitish Kumar in the 2015 assembly elections. Nitish was impressed by his skills and included him in JD (U) in 2018. A few days later, Nitish made Prashant Kishor the national vice-president. However, he was expelled from the party after less than two years.