Articles by Badar Bashir

Politics

Bihar Assembly elections 2025: Big setback for Prashant Kishor in debut election

The first-ever election contested by Jan Suraaj, led by Prashant Kishor in Bihar, has proved to be a disaster for the party as it has not been able to garner enough votes in any constituency, out of around 240 assembly seats, to be even counted as a minor force. The party has worked for the last three years, and its founder, Kishor, has visited around 5000 villages to understand their needs, along with reaching out to them to seed the sentiments of change in the impending election. According to party leaders, Kishor was unable to project candidates in their respective constituencies as powerful candidates turned the elections bipolar and pushed Jan Suraaj into oblivion. A leader said, 'All the major parties contesting elections have candidates who are either legislators or have been on the ground or have their cadres on the ground for innumerable years. We had people who were new and inexperienced and didn't know how to campaign and attract people or create an air where people perceive you as a potential winner.' Notably, Kishor has been the only face projected throughout from the inception of the party up until the end of the campaigns as he worked tirelessly to reach out to people through social media and public speeches. Now, the early trends indicate the party has not been able to make its mark in any constituency. It has not even been able to reach the runner-up position in any constituency. Party leaders think that there were so many illusions created by both the alliance groups that Kishor practically crafted promises that looked too small, with weaker cadre strength and membership support. A party leader said, 'The party's momentum went drastically down after the ticket distribution was done. Many leaders thought that since this is a new party, they would have greater chances of getting the ticket. They were disappointed when they didn't get the ticket and therefore distanced themselves from the party work. So the candidates were left to fend for themselves, and many sensed that it would be difficult to pull off a victory, so they withdrew from spending money.' So, how will Prashant Kishor carry out his political work, as the state electorate has not responded to his promises? Everyone will be watching.