Prashant Kishor reacts to Jan Suraaj’s zero-seat performance in Bihar, accepts responsibility, refuses to quit politics, and announces a day-long fast for self-reflection.
Qalam Times News Network
Patna | 18 November 2025
Prashant Kishor: What He Said After the Bihar Verdict
Prashant Kishor didn’t sugarcoat anything. Speaking for the first time after his party Jan Suraaj failed to win a single seat, he said openly that he came to Bihar to change the system, yet couldn’t even change the government.
Jan Suraaj contested 238 seats; on 236 seats, the party lost its deposits. With barely 3.5% vote share, the result was a harsh setback. But Prashant Kishor insists he’s not walking away.
Media Attention Despite Defeat
Here’s the thing—despite the poor numbers, Prashant Kishor seemed surprisingly upbeat about one aspect: a party with just 3.5% votes still getting major media coverage.
To him, this means the movement struck a chord somewhere, even if voters didn’t back it at the booth. He took full responsibility, saying the failure was collective but the accountability was his.
His Allegation: NDA Won Because Money Was Promised
Kishor argued that CM Nitish Kumar’s JDU would have barely touched 25 seats if the government hadn’t rolled out massive financial benefits right before the polls.
He rejected the claim that voters sold their votes, calling it an insult to Bihar’s people.
According to him, each constituency saw 60,000 beneficiaries receiving ₹10,000, and across the state, 1.5 crore women were promised ₹2 lakh loans. Government officers and Jeevika workers were assigned to convince people that the benefit would continue if NDA returned.
‘Bihar’s People Didn’t Sell Their Votes’
He was clear and firm: Bihar’s voters did not trade their future for ₹10,000. Instead, he said, it was the unprecedented ₹40,000 crore promise that shaped the election outcome.
‘We Didn’t Spread Hate’
Defending Jan Suraaj, Kishor said the party didn’t win trust, but it didn’t commit any wrongdoing either. They didn’t fan caste hatred, didn’t play Hindu–Muslim politics, and didn’t buy votes. His words carried a sense of regret but also moral pride.
A Day of Silence: His Fast on 20 November
Owning the defeat, Kishor announced a one-day silent fast at Gandhi Bhitiharwa Ashram on 20 November as an act of introspection.
He promised to work twice as hard now, saying he wouldn’t step back until his mission of improving Bihar sees real progress.
What This Means for Bihar’s Politics
This press conference marks Jan Suraaj’s first major political test—and its first major failure. But Prashant Kishor made one thing unmistakably clear: he’s not quitting politics. His fight for an alternative political space in Bihar continues.
