Voters in rural Bihar still reluctant to rally behind ‘untested’ Jan Suraaj

Bright yellow posters of political consultant-turned-politician Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party dot the Bihar landscape, urging people to vote for better education and jobs for their children. The party’s slogan — Garibi se nikalne ka rasta, har ghar school ka basta (The way out of poverty is a school bag in every home) — resonates with many. But the messenger, not the message, is under scrutiny.

The JSP has fielded candidates in 240 of the 243 constituencies in the Bihar Assembly. Mr. Kishor himself is not contesting, claiming his new party could not afford to focus its energies on a single seat.

Brajesh Kumar Kushwaha, 36, runs a shop selling readymade garments on the Delhi-Kolkata Highway. He is quick to offer lengthy appraisals of the Nitish Kumar government and the Opposition coalition, the Mahagatbandhan, but is reluctant when asked for an opinion on Mr. Kishor. “Abhi dur ki baat hai [It is still a distant thing],” he says. Different iterations of Mr. Kushwaha’s remarks are heard across the rural stretches -- Mr. Kishor remains an untested variable voters are not willing to waste their votes on. Many want to wait till the next Assembly election to see if the JSP and Mr. Kishor continue to remain relevant. Recall value of JSP’s election symbol and candidates is low.

Mr. Kishor has claimed that for the first time in several decades, Bihar is seeing a three-cornered election, though the rural electorate is not quite convinced, with voters insisting that the contest is firmly bipolar.

The force of the opinion varies depending on the voter’s own ideology. Committed voters of the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the Mahagatbandhan have stronger opinions. Randhir Yadav, a security guard in Gurgaon, has returned home for the festivals and election. A vocal supporter of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, he doesn’t pause to breathe before declaring that “Prashant Kishor is B-team of BJP”. Madan Prasad Singh Rajput, who runs a pharmacy at Kurhani in Muzzafarpur district, describes himself as a “202% BJP supporter”. On Mr. Kishor, he says, “He is all in the air; the bubble will burst on November 14.”

Mr. Kishor’s pitch has found some resonance among urban voters, especially those looking for options beyond the NDA, but are uncomfortable voting for the Mahagatbandhan.

Santoh Kumar Gupta, a Halwai (traditional confectioner) by profession and caste, is doing brisk business this Chhath season, supplying laddoos to local shops. At Panchanpur, Gaya, between sips of milky sweet tea, he settles the account for his latest delivery. He is deeply unhappy with the BJP government at the Centre for introducing reservation for economically weaker sections among Forward Castes. “Today, an Other Backward Class/ Economically Backward Class student has to get more marks than the General Category student to get admission,” he says, softly, his voice not rising above a murmur. “Change is essential,” he says. Can the RJD be the agent of change? His answer is an empathic “no”. “Prashant Kishor has worked in various political parties, he has sound political understanding and if you hear him speak, he makes a lot of sense,” Mr. Gupta says.

Anil Kumar, 35, runs a small hotel at Gaya railway station. He belongs to the Chandrawanshi community, which falls under the EBC category. He declares himself to be a committed BJP voter, but is deeply disappointed with the current leadership of the party in the State. “The BJP has no face,” he says, as he runs through the morning headlines. His words are nearly drowned out, with loud music from one of the shops closeby competing with the blaring horns of the slow traffic. Voting for the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagatbandhan is a leap he is not willing to take. For him Mr. Kishor “is more familiar.”

For 25-year-old Rahul Kumar at Hajipur, who comes from the Sah community, classified as EBC, this is the second Assembly election he will be voting in. His vote in the last Assembly election was for the BJP. He has a litany of complaints against the Nitish government, and top of the list is the delay in filling vacancies in the medical department. Brought up on the stories of “jungle Raj”, Mr. Kumar is too wary of the Mahagatbandhan, even though he finds RJD leader Mr. Yadav’s campaign on jobs reassuring. Supporting the JSP though for him presents no such hurdle. “Prashant Kishore has a vision. What he speaks about jobs and education is absolutely spot on,” Kumar said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kishor had last week accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of “intimidating” his party’s candidates and forcing them to withdraw their nominations from key constituencies in Bihar.