Purnea: Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has said his party will either be on the “arsh or farsh” (form the government on its own or not be in power at all) in the upcoming elections in Bihar, as he presented it as an honest and strong alternative in the state.
“There will be no middle ground,” he told ThePrint in a wide-ranging interview in which he also talked about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, migration, employment and corruption among others.
Even though the Jan Suraaj has officially not announced how many seats it will contest in Bihar, which has 243 constituencies, Kishor said he himself may enter the poll fray if the party decides so. “That decision will be taken in August. The party will decide. It’s possible I may contest… we have a process inside the party, we will sit and discuss, and make a decision in August,” he said.
On being asked which alliance among the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan and BJP-led NDA his party could join in case of a fractured mandate, Kishor said the NDA’s departure is a certainty, and the voter has to decide between the RJD and his Jan Suraaj.
When asked whether he is pitching the Jan Suraaj as an alternative to the BJP in Bihar, Kishor said his party is the “alternative to the lack of options” in Bihar, and underlined his ideological and political differences with the BJP.
Kishor also spoke at length about why he started the Jan Suraaj, how he plans to address much-talked about issues like migration, jobs, and education, and what he saw during his padyatra across Bihar.
The people of Bihar want “change” and there will be a change come November, he said.
“And I feel that most of the people who want the change are now able to see that if the change has to happen, the NDA has to go. Nitish and BJP are bound to go,” he said. “They (voters) have two options. One is Lalu-Tejashwi, jungle raj, lantern which people have seen and experienced for 15 years. And the other option they have is the Jan Suraaj which is a new system which people have not tested yet. But people have been watching, listening to and understanding it for 2-2.5 years.”
Pitting himself against the RJD, Kishor said people need to decide whether they want to bring in the “Lalu’s jungle raj, which you have tried and tested for 15 years” or a new effort which is an “honest and strong alternative”.
“This is the only decision that needs to be taken. Change is certain. Nitish Kumar’s departure is certain. You can take it in writing from me. After November, Nitish Kumar will no longer be the chief minister of Bihar. No two ways about it,” he said.
Kishor said his party is trying to build a system that presents an alternative. “I fully believe a time will come when the people of Bihar will say ‘this is the party, this is the person, these are the people who are ours and who can bring change to Bihar’. That’s why I’m saying the Jan Suraaj will be either in the race, or out of it. There will be no middle ground,” he explained.
“In the election results, Jan Suraaj ya toh arsh pe rahega ya farsh pe rahega,” he said, but asserted whatever be the electoral results, he will continue to fight for the people of Bihar.
Detailing the organisational structure of the party, Kishor said from October last year till April 2025, they have tried to build and expand the organisational structure. “Today, the Jan Suraaj is the largest political organisation in Bihar. We don’t have any MP or MLA, but if you look at the number of primary and founding members, then the Jan Suraaj has almost twice the BJP’s proclaimed number of 70 lakh,” he claimed.
Kishor said his party will not resort to the culture of ‘freebies’ to win elections, and criticised the RJD’s poll promise of giving Rs 2,500 to every woman every month if it comes to power.
“The RJD was in power for 15 years. Why didn’t it occur to them then? Tejashwi Yadav ran the government as deputy chief minister for three years. Why didn’t it occur to him then? But it’s pointless to talk about the RJD,” Kishor said, pointing out that even their ally Congress has promised it.
“There is one known economist and former finance minister in this country, P. Chidambaram, who is also a senior Congress leader. Let P. Chidambaram come to Bihar and explain just two things: Bihar has six crore women based on population. Even if you don’t count minor girls and children, there would be about 4.5 to 5 crore adult women. If you give Rs 2,500 per month to 5 crore women, that comes to around Rs 1.5 lakh-crore a year. So P. Chidambaram should come and tell us from where will Bihar get Rs 1.5 lakh-crore?”
Kishor asked Tejashwi Yadav as well as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to explain if such a scheme can be implemented in Bihar, then why are they not implementing it in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh where the Congress is in power.
“All three of these states are financially stronger than Bihar. So why aren’t you implementing it in Karnataka? Why aren’t you giving Rs 2,500 per month to women in Telangana? Implement it there, and we’ll believe you can do it in Bihar too.” he added.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Kumar also announced free electricity for all consumers in the state for up to 125 units.
However, Kishor said this is not feasible in a state like Bihar. “If you leave aside one or two states in the country like Delhi and Goa, which are revenue-surplus states, no other state has such a financial condition that it can give Rs 2,000-2,500 per month to all women. It‘s just not possible.”
Also Read: How Prashant Kishor’s newly minted Jan Suraaj party will impact key players in Bihar politics
‘Nitish not face of NDA’
Kishor launched the Jan Suraaj 2 October 2024, and since then it has been cornering the Nitish government, especially over the issue of corruption. Asked if he thinks Nitish Kumar will be the face of the NDA in the 2025 polls, Kishor asserted “absolutely not”.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah says the NDA will win but is quiet on who will be their face, he said, adding Kumar has lost the trust of the public as he frequently changed alliances.
“I’ve been saying for the past 2 years—Nitish Kumar neither has the mental capacity nor the physical capacity to run the government. And I believe that come what may Nitish Kumar will not remain the Chief Minister after November. Bihar will get a new government and a new chief minister”.
Kishor said that all the three major political parties—Congress, RJD, and BJP— have ruled Bihar and if the state is still backward today, then these parties are responsible. “If the youth of Bihar are still unemployed today, then these three are responsible. If Bihar is still at the bottom in education and health, then these three are responsible.”
Putting forward a blueprint for addressing distress migration from the state, Kishor said one has to first understand that migration from Bihar is not just of labourers. “The biggest migration from Bihar is capital migration. The second is brain drain and the third is labour migration,” he explained.
Kishor said the money that the people of Bihar keep in banks as savings is not lent by banks to people here, they don’t invest this money here and they don’t give loans here. “Instead, they send this money to other states. This is RBI data.”
Kishor said the Jan Suraaj will first stop capital migration, and after this is achieved it will help arrest brain drain. “The day you stop capital and brain drain, labour migration will stop on its own,” he said.
“In material terms, the moment the Jan Suraaj system is established, a special ministry, a department will be created whose sole and only job will be that within one year, 50 lakh people who have been forced to go out to feed their families, will be brought back,” he added.
‘EC under BJP pressure’
Commenting on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Kishor said the exercise is being done to help the BJP. “The Election Commission is acting under pressure. I have said clearly — the BJP has realised it cannot win in Bihar without manipulation. They know the Jan Suraaj movement is growing. People are angry with all parties.
“So now they are trying to cut votes at the root—by deleting names of voters, especially migrant voters. People who live and work outside, their names are being removed under the excuse that they’re not present,” he alleged.
“This is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has said that the EC cannot decide citizenship or eligibility arbitrarily. But they’re doing this in coordination with local officials. It’s being done selectively— anti-government or anti-establishment names are being removed. This is a big danger for democracy. If this continues, we will protest. People will hit the streets if their vote is stolen,” he said.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: Gloves off as NDA leaders, Prashant Kishor trade barbs in run-up to high-stakes Bihar polls
