Prashant Kishor is set to make his electoral debut by contesting the by-election in the Bankipur Assembly seat in Bihar. He announced the decision on Sunday, July 5, and said that the upcoming bypoll would be a “referendum on the work of the Samrat Chaudhry government” that has been in effect for two months.
“If the BJP wins, I will not hesitate to admit that they continue to enjoy popular support. If we win, they will have to read the writing on the wall,” said Kishor, who will contest on his party’s Jan Suraj ticket.
The big announcement by the political strategist-turned-politician came after his new party more or less failed to open its account in Bihar in last year’s Assembly elections. If Kishor wins, he will be the only Jan Suraj MLA in the Bihar Assembly.
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“The people of Bankipur are the richest and most educated.”
Kishore praised the people of Bankipur as the “richest” and “most educated” in Bihar and urged them to vote for him.
“The people of Bankipur are the richest and most educated in Bihar. Let them vote for the best. If they feel they can restore their faith in me, I urge them to vote for me… Even as the only MP of my party, I will outshine the remaining 242 in the Assembly,” he said.
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The Bankipur Assembly seat is witnessing a bypoll after BJP president Nitin Nabin resigned from the post of MLA and is now a Rajya Sabha MP.
Janata Janshakti Dal (JJD) president Tej Pratap Yadav also removed social activist Veena Manvi from the seat.
However, the BJP is yet to announce his name.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress in opposition are also yet to announce a candidate.
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While announcing his name, Kishor asserted that according to him, BJP’s Samrat Chaudhary became the chief minister of Bihar “without the mandate of the people” after the National Democratic Alliance, including the BJP, Nitish Kumar-led Janta Dal (United) and other parties, won by a landslide in November last year.
While Nitish Kumar was appointed Chief Minister of Bihar after winning the elections, he later resigned and moved to the Rajya Sabha with the BJP’s Samrat Chaudhary taking over the top job.
Voting will be held in Bankipore on July 30 and the results will be announced on August 3. Nomination submission will begin on Monday, July 6, until July 13.
(With inputs from PTI)
