Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party fails to open account in Bihar election

NEW DELHI: The newly formed Jan Suraaj Party, founded by election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, faced a major setback in the 2025 Bihar Assembly Election, failing to secure a single seat despite contesting in almost all 243 constituencies.

Kishor had indicated that he might contest from Raghopur or Kargahar, but ultimately decided against fighting the elections. “The members of the party have decided that I should focus on working for the victory of the other candidates of the party, so I am not contesting the elections”, Kishor had said when asked about his decision.

Prashant Kishor officially launched the Jan Suraaj Party in Patna on October 2, 2024, stating that the party had been active since 2022. At the time, Kishor had vowed that if elected to power, he would immediately lift the liquor ban in Bihar and use the tax revenue to upgrade the education system. Throughout his campaign, Kishor emphasised employment, infrastructure, law and order in Bihar and yet failed to win a single seat.

#WATCH | On migrant workers being the X factor of Bihar elections, Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor says, “…In Bihar, there has never been so much voting in independent history. There is something that is going on beneath the surface, which people are not able to… pic.twitter.com/fVu7MGHO3A

— ANI (@ANI) November 9, 2025

Despite the high-profile launch and campaign promises, the debutant party suffered poor results across constituencies. In Tarapur, its candidate Santosh Kumar managed only 3,898 votes.

In Alinagar, the Jan Suraaj candidate finished fourth with 2,275 votes, falling behind independent candidate Saifuddin Ahmed, who secured 2,803 votes. Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Maithili Thakur (25) won the Alinagar seat by a margin of 11,730 votes, becoming the youngest MLA in Bihar.

Meanwhile, Jan Suraaj Party’s Priyadarshi Piyush finished third in his constituency with 19,365 votes. Jailed Janata Dal (United) leader Anant Singh secured a victory from Mokama assembly constituency in Bihar’s Patna district by a margin of 28,206 votes.

The party’s campaign had attracted notable figures, including Dr. Jagriti, granddaughter of former Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur, Anand Mishra, an independent candidate from Buxar in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and Professor Rambali Singh Chandravanshi, who joined the party, impressed by Kishor’s focus on development in the state. Despite efforts, high-profile launch and campaign promises, the party’s debut in Bihar’s political landscape ended in disappointment.

The National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) “tsunami” swept away the opposition Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with 89 seats, and the Janata Dal (United) finishing a close second with 85. The other allies of the ruling coalition also registered high strike rates.

The parties of the Mahagathbandhan, including the RJD and Congress, suffered significant setbacks, and Jan Suraaj, which had hoped for an impressive debut after its founder, Prashant Kishor, conducted an extensive campaign, failed to open its account.

The ruling NDA got 202 seats, a three-fourths majority in the 243-member House. This is the second time NDA has crossed the 200 mark in the assembly polls. In the 2010 polls, it had won 206 seats. In the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats, Janata Dal (United) won 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJPRV) won 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS) won five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha won four seats.

In Mahagathbandhan, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won 25 seats, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) – CPI(ML)(L) – two, Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) – one and Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPI(M) one seat. The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won five seats, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got one seat. (ANI)