Bihar elections will prove to be Nitish Kumar’s ‘political shraddha’: Prashant Kishor claims

Jan Suraj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Friday claimed that the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar will prove to be Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s “political shraddha”. Kishor made the remarks at the ‘Bihar Badlaav Rally’ organised at Gandhi Maidan here. He also said that the people of the state have been disappointed by Nitish Kumar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, Kishor seemed unhappy with the low turnout and decided to address the rally for barely 10 minutes. He accused the administration of “preventing at least two lakh people coming from other parts of the state from entering Patna”. The former election strategist alleged that the administration acted at the behest of Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar. He said he would perform a “political shraddha” of the 74-year-old leader (Kumar). “Let us take a pledge to overthrow this government. Lalu Prasad, who brought jungle raj, has disappointed the people of Bihar,” Kishor said. They (people) are now grappling with a new kind of bureaucratic ‘jungle raj’ under Nitish Kumar and (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, who supported Nitish, has also disappointed the people.” Kishor also recalled his participation in the protest by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam aspirants earlier this year. The protest had raised the profile of the Jan Suraj Party, though the party failed to make any impact in the by-elections to five assembly constituencies in the state a few months ago. “I was detained by the police on this very public ground. I had then announced that I would return to Gandhi Maidan. Today the administration conspired to stop me from interacting with my supporters. But, within 10 days from now I will start the yatra and meet my people at their doorsteps,” said Kishor, who founded the party after a statewide ‘padyatra’ on Gandhi Jayanti last year. Meanwhile, Janata Dal (United) member of legislative council (MLC) and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar claimed, “Prashant Kishor’s rally was a flop show. Those who came were no more than the usual crowd of evening walkers. Before concluding his brief speech, Kishor promised the party workers, “I will talk to the media and then stay at Gandhi Maidan till late night. I will meet all of you.