New Delhi: With the Bihar assembly elections on the horizon, political parties in the state are working overtime to woo the electorate. Amidst this, Prashant Kishor and his Jan Suraaj Party aim to break the stronghold of both the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan in the state. For this, Kishor has announced the launch of a state-wide signature campaign against the Bihar government, starting from the ancestral village of chief minister Nitish Kumar.
The campaign will kick off on May 11 from Kalyan Bigaha, a village in Nalanda district, where Nitish Kumar’s political journey began in the 1980s.
A vocal critic of Nitish
Kishor, who has been a vocal critic of the state government, said that the campaign aims to expose the unfulfilled promises made by the Nitish Kumar-led government. He referred to the common perception that while Nitish Kumar may not have brought substantial development to the state, he has reportedly worked towards the development of his home district. Kishor intends to debunk this myth by highlighting the actual situation in the chief minister’s own village.
“The Nitish Kumar government promised financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to 94 lakh families across the state. But the reality is far from the claims. This promise, much like the one made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Rs 15 lakh being deposited into every citizen’s bank account, seems to be yet another political gimmick,” Kishor said at a press conference in Harnaut, Nalanda.
Jan Suraaj’s focus on key issues
The Jan Suraaj Party plans to focus on three major issues in its campaign: whether the promised Rs 2 lakh has reached the families in need, whether Dalit families practising agriculture have received the promised land (three decimals), and whether the digitisation of land records under the ongoing land survey has been fully implemented.
“The government must answer whether these promises have been fulfilled. If the claims are true, there should be no objection to verifying them with the people,” Kishor remarked. He added that party workers would visit homes across Bihar to collect signatures as part of this movement.
Kishor further emphasized that there is no question of aligning with any political party. “Jan Suraaj will ally with the people. We are not seeking an alliance with any political party or organisation. We will contest all 243 seats independently, both before and after the elections,” he confirmed.