Decision on Jan Suraaj contesting Lok Sabha polls by October: PK

Patna: Come October, the Jan Suraaj campaign, a brainchild of former poll strategist Prashant Kishor, might take the shape of a full- fledged political party with its members or those it supports even contesting the Lok Sabha elections next year.
The Jan Suraaj campaign, a statewide foot march by Kishor, has covered eight districts in north Bihar since it started from Bhitiharwa Ashram in West Champaran on October 2, 2022.Kishor has claimed that it has been estimated that it will take two to three years for the padyatra to cover the entire state.
Addressing a public meeting in Samastipur late on Tuesday evening, Kishor said people have come up with their suggestions that at least the districts covered under the padayatra so far, where the committees have been formed, Jan Suraaj should be given a political shape.
“Discussion is going on with the whole team and it is expected that we can plan on contesting elections in the next two to three months,” he said.
He added there could be two ways of contesting elections for the Jan Suraaj members.
“First, one can contest the election as an independent, with the help of the entire Jan Suraaj team. The second way to contest elections is by forming a Jan Suraaj party. “Whatever it is, I see the possibility of a decision being taken around October.”
Kishor further said that caste is not the only factor to win elections in Bihar. To buttress his point, Kishor cited the example of BJP and its allies winning 39 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in the 2019 general elections.
“Everyone agrees that caste is the only reality in Bihar and every person is voting in the name of caste, but this is not entirely true. Many of us believe that the BJP will not get votes in Bihar but people vote in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. How many people of Modi's caste live in Bihar? Today the person who is voting for Modi is not voting by looking at Modi's caste. They are being deceived in the name of Modi,” he said.
He added: “The concept of caste that we have inculcated in our mind is not completely correct. If one wants to win, one will have to bring a different ideology to counter the BJP.”