Bihar polls: Sunset before sunrise for Jan Suraaj? 3 key challenges before the 'challenger'

NEW DELHI: Bihar has been a laboratory for political parties to test their "prayogs" to clinch power. In the latest addition of such prayogs is poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj, who has emerged as a third option for voters in the upcoming assembly elections and challenged the socialist forces — Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal — by fielding candidates on all 243 seats.Prashant has been camping in Bihar for three years. He formed his party in 2024 on October 2, vowing to contest the elections on the plank of development. However, as the elections inch closer, several challenges seem to surround PK and his party, making the climb to 'Ek Anne Marg' an even steeper climb.

Challenges ahead of the challenger

Candidates desertion

Jan Suraaj has been defeated on at least three seats as candidates walked out even before a single vote has been cast — Dr Shashi Shekhar Sinha from Gopalganj, Dr Satya Prakash Tiwari from Brahmpur (Buxar), and Akhilesh Kumar alias Mutor Sao from the Danapur seat in Patna.Additionally, Jan Suraaj leaders, including state spokesperson Amit Kumar Paswan, former district councillor Anita Kumari, and founding member Karmveer Paswan, have recently joined the BJP ahead of the upcoming elections.However, Prashant Kishor accused Bharatiya Janata Party and Union minister Amit Shah of "coercing and intimidating" his party candidates out of fear of losing the elections."Look at this picture: you can see Home Minister Amit Shah and Dharmendra Pradhan.

You talk about the model code of conduct... the Home Minister kept a candidate with him for one full day so that he could not file his nomination," Kishor said.

Anger amongst party workers

Meanwhile, party workers are also upset with Jan Suraaj's pick of candidates across the state. Workers have accused Jan Suraaj and Prashant Kishor of deceiving them by dropping "parachute candidates" after the party workers did all the groundwork ahead of the assembly elections.Talking to The Times of India, Jan Suraaj leader Ravi Nandan Sahay said that probable candidates deposited Rs 21,000 to contest elections on Jan Suraaj's symbol from Kumhrar; however, the party decided on former Patna University vice chancellor KC Sinha from the constituency, who had not even joined the party formally."The party workers are feeling cheated. The party had promised that tickets would only be given to a person among the probable candidates.

However, I was shocked by the party's decision to field KC Sinha from Kumhrar, who had not formally joined the party till then. Each probable candidate was also mandated to hold sabhas and distribute Parivaar Labhaarthi cards. All our efforts went in vain," Sahay said."Now, almost every probable candidate has left the party and decided to contest the poll independently. This will cause a significant dent in Jan Suraaj during the campaigning," he added.

Whose 'B team' is Jan Suraaj anyway?

In the run-up to the assembly elections, both Mahagathbandhan and NDA have accused Jan Suraaj of being the "B team" of each other. The perception also seeps among voters who are not yet sure about PK's allegiance.“Kishor realised that he would not win elections, and that is why he announced that he would not contest polls. Whatever he had invested in forming the Jan Suraaj Party had been recovered. His party is nothing but a ‘vote katwa’ (a party that cuts the votes of others),” Union minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh alleged after Prashant Kishor decided not to contest elections from Raghopur against RJD scion Tejashwi Yadav."Jan Suraaj is the 'B' team of the RJD," Giriraj Singh added.Meanwhile, RJD has also maintained its accusation that Jan Suraaj is a "B team" of the Nitish Kumar-led ruling alliance in Bihar.Now, it will be interesting to see how Prashant persuades voters that his party is viable and avoids being a "vote katwa," a spoiler in the upcoming elections.The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections.

The 243 assembly seats will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on November 14.The total number of electors in the final list stands at 7.42 crore, while there were 7.89 crore electors as of June 24 this year. An Election Commission press release stated that 65 lakh voters were removed from the draft list, and the number of electors in the draft list as of August 1, 2025, stood at 7.24 crore.In the 2020 assembly election, the BJP contested 110 seats and won 74, securing 19.8% of the vote share. The Janata Dal (United) contested 115 seats and won 43, with a 15.7% vote share. The Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) contested seven seats, winning four, and achieved 0.9% of the vote share.