Prashant Kishor confirms launch of Jan Suraaj party on Oct 2, set to take on Nitish Kumar’s JDU in 2025 Bihar polls

Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj will be christened a political party on 2 October, Gandhi Jayanti. Jan Suraaj which started as a campaign in Bihar, will be registered as a political party this year.

"As stated earlier, Jan Suraaj will become a political party on October 2 and contest next year's assembly polls. Other details, such as party leadership, will be decided in due course," said Kishor, who launched the campaign two years ago.

Prashant Kishor, founder of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), announced earlier this month that Jan Suraaj will be competing in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. Kishor also highlighted that Jan Suraaj is gaining significant support from the Muslim community in Bihar.

Prashant Kishor had announced plans for his party, Jan Suraaj, to contest all 243 seats in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

In a move aimed at broadening representation, Kishor had also said his intention to field at least 75 candidates from the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) category under the Jan Suraaj banner.

Prashant Kishor has been a poll strategist for prominent politicians including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Kishor has confirmed that Jan Suraaj will run independently in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

Jan Suraaj

Prashant Kishor welcomed the entry of Jagriti Thakur, daughter of Virendra Nath Thakur, younger son of the Bharat Ratna awardee socialist leader.

The late Thakur's elder son Ram Nath Thakur is a JD(U) MP and a Union Minister of state.

Others who joined Jan Suraaj included former RJD MLC Rambali Singh Chandravanshi, who was recently disqualified from the legislative council on grounds of indiscipline, and Anand Mishra, a former IPS officer who resigned from service hoping for a BJP ticket but contested the Lok Sabha polls from Buxar as an Independent after being denied the ticket.

Prashant Kishor vs Nitish Kumar

Prashant Kishor accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of having "touched the feet" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure his own continuance in power.

"People ask me why I am now criticising Nitish Kumar, having worked with him in the past. He was a different man back then. His conscience had not been put up for sale," said Kishor, who had managed the JD (U) president's election campaign in 2015 and formally joined the party two years later.

"Nitish Kumar brought shame to Bihar when he touched the feet of Modi," Kishor said.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Nitish Kumar's JD(U) secured 12 seats, becoming the second-largest ally of the BJP, which fell short of a majority on its own.