'Kingmaker' to certain loser: How voters in Bihar see Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj

Patna: From the capital Patna to dusty bylanes of Jehanabad, many have already written off Jan Suraaj -- the latest entrant on Bihar's political block.

The party's supporters, however, are hopeful of making a "dent" in the 243-member Assembly and emerging as a "kingmaker, if not a king." Many critics posit that the former political strategist Prashant Kishor-led party "has a vision", but it is "too young" and "inexperienced" in politics to be trusted.

Dr Rajiv Jha, a resident of Patna's Patrakar Nagar, seethes with anger at heaps of garbage dumped near his home and broken roads, which he hopes might be fixed after this election.

Asked how he looks at the entry of Kishor's party in the fray, the cardiologist argued that the party "won't be able to open its account." Arun Kumar Pathak, 71, who retired as chief ticket supervisor in the Indian Railways, is even more critical of the newcomer and its candidate from the key Kumhrar constituency, 71-year-old mathematician K C Sinha.

"This new party is not trustworthy, has suddenly appeared on the election horizon without any experience... 'Unki (Sinha) zamanat japt ho jayegi' (he will have to forfeit his deposit). The mathematician is a local. He could have done something good for the area earlier, before joining politics. But now he wants votes, so speaking of change," he charged.

Kumhrar is dominated by the Kayastha community population-wise, and many other locals contend that Jan Suraaj has picked Sinha, a political debutant and author of several textbooks on mathematics, based on "caste arithmetic."

Residents of Kumhrar, Bankipur, Patna Sahib, Digha and Danapur constituencies, falling within the city limits of Patna, voted on Thursday as part of the first phase of the polling.

Dr Ranvir Narayan, who voted in Bankipore seat, said a newbie like Jan Suraaj makes "tall promises", but it's "just not cut out for the role yet." Jan Suraaj has also been accused by a section of voters of being the "Team B" of the BJP, the ruling party at the Centre and the main ally of JD(U) in the NDA government in Bihar.

A party insider, who has been part of the journey of Jan Suraaj since 2022, much before the party was floated and officially launched, claimed the "narrative" has been set by a few leaders who want to "mislead Muslim voters who might align themselves with us." The party, which aspires to build a "prosperous Bihar", was launched in Patna on October 2 last year.

Many political commentators and ordinary people questioned the timing of the announcement that came just ahead of the Bihar election.

The logo of Jan Suraaj is a yellow circle with images of Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar embedded inside it. The party symbol is a school bag.

The three pillars of the party are "right people, right thinking and collective efforts." Jan Suraaj has said it will fight on all 243 seats, and according to the party insider, it is hopeful of scoring on "at least 30 seats in the state, including a few in Patna." In an interview with PTI on October 15, Kishor said that a "tally of less than 150 seats" for Jan Suraaj will be considered a defeat.

"If Jan Suraaj Party wins the Bihar polls, it will have a nationwide impact. The compass of national politics will point in a different direction," he said.

Kishor has maintained that his party has "given an option" to people and they have to decide what kind of government and what kind of leaders they wish to elect for themselves, if Bihar is to change for the better.

Jan Suraaj is banking heavily on young voters, but many of them feel that his decision not to contest himself will hamper the party's prospects.

Shivam Pratap Singh, 28, a first-time voter, after exercising his franchise in Patna, said, "This new party has outlined good commitments, but how realistic they are. First, one needs to get elected, and for that, one has to do something concrete at ground level to earn people's confidence." Gaya native Tarique Anwar, 33, who is left-oriented and currently in Jehanabad district to campaign for a candidate, says, there is "no 'Jan Suraaj' factor in Jehanabad Assembly seat, it is just a two-way contest between NDA and INDIA bloc." The second phase of the elections will be held on November 1,1 and votes will be counted on November 14.