Prashant Kishor’s ancestral village willing to give him a chance

The people of Konar are eagerly waiting for November 11, when Bihar will vote in the second and final phase of the Assembly election. The village, which falls under the Kargahar constituency, is the ancestral home of Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor.

Mr. Kishor’s house is visible on the main road as one enters the village, some 12 km from Sasaram.

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Spread over a sprawling but unkempt campus, the 17-room rundown house is surrounded by tall grass. As one steps into the campus pushing open an iron gate, one finds Kedar Pandey, the lone caretaker. He is hesitant to show around but a quick glance finds the broken windows and doors of the house, and its cracked walls.

Ever since Mr. Kishor stopped visiting his ancestral village, the house has fallen into a state of disrepair. A few chairs in the corner welcome those who have been visiting the house after the leader created quite a buzz in the run-up to election by taking on the ruling and Opposition leaders.

Besides JSP flags, stickers and a small cutout of Mr. Kishor in one corner of the house, there is a poster of Ritesh Ranjan Pandey, the Bhojpuri singer and actor whom the JSP has fielded from Kargahar.

The caretaker said Mr. Kishor had last visited the dilapidated one-storey building in 2017, when his mother passed away. In 2019, his father Shrikant Pandey breathed his last at a private hospital in Delhi.

Shrikant was a physician with a practice in Buxar, where Mr. Kishor has another house and from where the JSP founder did his early schooling. Mr. Pandey recalled that when people from Konar visited the clinic, Shrikant never charged them a fee.

Mixed population

Konar has over 4,500 residents, a mixed population of Brahmins, Kurmis, Koeris, Kushwahas, Dalits, and Muslims. There are no Rajputs and Bhumihars in the village. Many youngsters from here have migrated to the other States in search of jobs – a story that is central to Mr. Kishor’s poll campaign.

People believe that Mr. Kishor can bring change if his candidates win. But they also expressed disappointment over him not contesting the polls. Initially, he had announced to throw his hat in the ring from Kargahar or Raghopur, but backtracked.

The people praised the work of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, with some saying that he did good work in the first five years but his desire to become the Prime Minister made the State’s development a casualty.

“He did tremendous work and he was a very good administrator who kept only development in his agenda. He gave good roads, round-the-clock electricity and water supply, and controlled crime. However, in the past 15 years, his working style has changed and has come to the lowest rank now,” said Sanatan Pandey.

Mr. Kishor’s neighbour, Shashikant Pandey, said Konar’s people have “complete trust” that the JSP founder will bring change.

Kargahar will see a triangular contest as Mr. Ritesh Ranjan has been pitted against the sitting Congress MLA Santosh Kumar Mishra and Janata Dal (United) candidate Bashisth Singh, who had earlier represented the seat in 2015.

Mr. Kishor’s talk of stopping migration has struck a note here.

Yogendra Paswan, a villager said: “He (Mr. Kishor) has promised to provide employment and we don’t want to go to the other States leaving our own village and family.”

Ramanand Gupta, from the Teli community which falls under Extremely Backward Classes, talked about the JSP’s promises. “He wants change in Bihar and promised more opportunities in our State itself. If he takes a U-turn from his promises, then the public will not vote for him next time. However, if his intentions are honest, poor people like me will support him,” he said.

The JSP candidate, Mr. Rajesh Ranjan, says he is “very impressed” with his party chief. “I have more money than a Minister or MLA. I have not entered politics to earn money. When the son of Bihar Prashant Kishor has taken the pledge to dedicate his life for the people of Bihar, I have joined to make a small contribution to the society,” he said.