On the outskirts of Patna, beyond the bungalows occupied by Bihar’s political elite, a cluster of basic structures, some of them with thatched roofs, near IIT Patna is emerging as the new nerve centre of Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party (JSP).
For Kishor, the move is more than a change of address. Until now, the JSP had been operating from the Patna residence shared by former MPs Uday Singh and N K Singh. On Wednesday, speaking at a party meeting in Darbhanga, Kishor announced that he had shifted to what the party calls the “Jan Bihar Navnirman Ashram”, located near Amhara village on Patna’s outskirts.
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“I shifted my residence on the night of May 19 to the Jan Bihar Navnirman Ashram, the official JSP address near IIT Patna,” Kishor said. “I will stay there until the next Assembly elections and until the Jan Suraaj Party brings change in Bihar with its own setup.”
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The new campus, built on leased land, resembles an ashram more than a conventional political office. It consists of mud-and-thatch houses and makeshift structures.
The political strategist-turned-politician had earlier attempted to run party activities from a temporary structure along the banks of the Ganga in Patna, but the experiment did not last.
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The relocation signals the beginning of a renewed political campaign by the JSP, which secured just 3.44% of the vote in the 2025 Assembly polls and failed to emerge as a significant challenger to the established political players in Bihar.
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“We had earlier decided to give the new government six months’ time,” Kishor said. “But now we have decided to restart our activities afresh because only the face of the government has changed, not the problems and challenges before Bihar.”
After a party meeting in Darbhanga on Wednesday, Kishor targeted the government of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. Referring to reports about expansion work at the Chief Minister’s residence, he said: “While migration from Bihar continues unabated, even 25 acres feels insufficient for the new Chief Minister. Huge amounts are being spent on upkeep that could instead be used for pensions for government employees.”
Kishor also targeted the government over its promises to women and youth. Referring to the pledge of financial assistance for women, he said the JSP would launch a campaign demanding the implementation of the government’s promise to provide Rs 2 lakh to each woman beneficiary.
“Those who made such promises themselves left power, promoted their own children, and left Bihar’s youth to do manual labour,” he said, in an apparent swipe at former chief minister Nitish Kumar and the induction of his son, Nishant Kumar, into politics.
On the NEET paper leak controversy, Kishor adopted a sharper tone. “The news is not that the paper leaked; it would have been news if it had not leaked,” he said. “When the keys of the vault are handed to the thief, how will corruption and paper leaks stop?”
Even as Kishor attempts to revive momentum around the JSP, the party has faced organisational setbacks in recent months. Several leaders have exited the outfit after the Assembly elections, including singer Ritesh Pandey, who had unsuccessfully contested from Kargahar, Kishor’s home constituency.
Former IPS officer Anand Mishra, who had quit the JSP before the elections, is now a BJP MLA from Buxar. More recently, senior JSP leader Y V Giri triggered speculation in political circles after paying what he described as a “courtesy visit” to Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary — a leader Kishor has repeatedly criticised over his educational qualifications and an alleged pending case.