Over a week since he defeated the BJP in its bastion of Bankipur in a Bihar Assembly bypoll, Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor speaks to The Indian Express about his win, the Jantar Mantar and Jharkhand protests, his vision for his constituency, and Bihar in the post-Nitish Kumar era. Excerpts:
* Is there a broader signal from the Delhi and Ranchi protests and the BJP’s bypoll defeats in Bankipur and Datia in Madhya Pradesh?
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Though these events are not directly connected, what happened at Jantar Mantar and Jharkhand point toward a much larger problem: primarily, the growing dominance of the coaching institute mafia and paper leaks.
Earlier, paper leaks were an exception. But today, there is hardly any exam without them. At the same time, there is persistent stagnation and stress in the economy, agriculture, and related fields, while AI has created pressure on white-collar jobs.
Read | In Prashant Kishor’s win, BJP’s moment of reckoning
This combination of economic stress, commercialisation, systemic corruption in education, and widespread unemployment has fueled deep unrest among the youth. What we saw at Jantar Mantar and now in Jharkhand is a manifestation of this discontent and it will continue to surface. This cannot be suppressed or managed casually, as the underlying cause points to structural dissatisfaction among the youth.
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Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor celebrates with supporters in Patna, Monday. (PTI)
* Why did the BJP lose Bankipur, a seat it held uninterrupted for over 30 years?
The Gen Z unrest had little direct bearing on Bankipur. The BJP lost Bankipur due to localised factors. The NDA appointed a Chief Minister (Samrat Choudhary) who lacks broad social acceptance. He is not widely accepted as the face of the NDA because of his political track record, his educational credentials, and his roots in the RJD.
If I were to pinpoint a single primary reason for the BJP’s loss in Bankipur, it is Samrat Choudhary. Additionally, while the BJP previously relied on anti-Lalu (Prasad) negative voting, electors saw a genuine, credible alternative in the JSP and Prashant Kishor this time. Bankipur’s result is not as unprecedented as it is being made out to be.
* Why did you not target BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who is believed to have picked Neeraj Kumar Sinha as the party’s Bankipur candidate?
I do not see a major role for Nitin Nabin here because he is not part of the state government. While he might have played a role in candidate selection as the party’s national president, I do not see his direct involvement in the day-to-day affairs of the Bankipur Assembly constituency.
He likely wanted a placeholder for the seat. In fact, he could have easily remained the local MLA while serving as BJP national president. After all, Amit Shah continued as an MLA even after becoming party president.
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* Is your win, the JSP’s first, the beginning of alternative politics in Bihar?
For a long time, voters backed the RJD out of fear of the BJP and supported the BJP or the NDA out of fear of the RJD. This pattern needs to stop. People deserve a real, constructive alternative, and we have been working tirelessly to build one.
I could not have won Bankipur without spending the last three years doing groundwork across the state. While voters didn’t support us in previous contests, they placed their trust in us in Bankipur. Now, the onus is on us to perform better than other lawmakers.
Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor. (Express photo by Rahul Sharma)
* What is your vision for Bankipur? Are you planning to fulfil your promise of 10,000 jobs for your constituents?
I made two or three core pre-election promises and I have added one more after my victory. First, I will ensure cardholders receive their full 5 kg free ration, not the 4 kg currently being distributed. I will ensure no citizen has to pay a bribe to get a ration card made.
Second, if the quality of education in local government schools does not improve within a year, the JSP will cover the cost of transferring those children to private schools.
I have also assured that at least one member each from roughly 10,000 families will get jobs. I am not promising government jobs. I will ensure people get suitable employment aligned with their educational and professional skill sets.
If one MLA can deliver this, it will build immense pressure on the remaining 242 MLAs in Bihar. I can guarantee one thing to the people of Bankipur: they will never be ashamed of their MLA. Over the coming years, my primary focus will remain strictly on education and employment.
Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor. (Express photo by Rahul Sharma)
* The Bankipur bypoll saw the blurring of traditional caste, religious, and party calculations. Is this a template for the future, particularly to attract Gen Z votes?
I wouldn’t limit this trend exclusively to Gen Z, but I can certainly commit to it for Bankipur. I say with absolute confidence that Bankipur will see tangible change in employment and education. If I fail to deliver on these promises, I will not ask for their votes again. But if I succeed, I will ask all of Bihar to support the JSP and urge voters to move beyond caste and religion to choose better candidates.
* Your political positioning is explicitly anti-BJP and anti-RJD. Are you open to any strategic political alignments in future elections?
Call it alignment, realignment, adjustment, or alliance. I have witnessed it firsthand. In 2015, Bihar saw political realignments and such opportunistic coalitions do not serve the public. We saw initiatives such as “Saat Nischay” and the Bihar Vikas Mission, but they failed to bring about fundamental transformation.
I am focused on building a system that fosters holistic growth, restores Bihar as the centre of knowledge, and creates abundant job opportunities. Only when people from other states start coming to Bihar for employment can we truly claim that meaningful progress and real change have arrived.