Prashant Kishor accuses BJP of forcing Jan Suraaj candidates to withdraw

Jan Suraaj Party chief and poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Tuesday (October 21) alleged that three candidates of his party were forced to withdraw their nominations under pressure from the BJP. He further alleged that the BJP was threatening opposition candidates to withdraw from the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

"Democracy is being murdered. There has been no such precedent in the country," said Kishore. He urged the Election Commission to ensure the security of the candidates.

The candidates who withdrew from the race were fielded in the Danapur, Brahampur, and Gopalganj seats, added the Jan Suraaj Party chief.

‘BJP replicating Surat model’

Kishor further alleged that the BJP was trying to replicate the “Surat model” in Bihar to ensure that their candidates get elected unopposed as they force all Opposition candidates to withdraw from the contest.

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"The BJP is trying to replicate the Surat model, in which their candidate got elected unopposed, as all other nominees were coerced to pull out. The BJP does not realise that voters had punished it across the country for it, and it won just 240 seats, though it had bragged that the tally would be 400-plus in last year's Lok Sabha polls," said Kishor.

‘BJP poaching Opposition MLAS’

He further alleged that there has been a pattern across the country where Opposition MLAs get poached after the elections, adding that the BJP has done it several times across multiple states.

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“Now, the same is happening in Bihar. There is no true alliance or democracy in play in Bihar right now. Jansuraaj's candidates are being systematically obstructed. Several of our candidates were stopped from even filing their nominations. So far, three of our candidates have been forced to withdraw their nominations under pressure," added Kishor as quoted by ANI.

‘Jan Suraj’s candidate abducted’

Kishor also said that in Danapur, Mutur Shah, whom the Jan Suraaj party had announced as its candidate, did not file his nomination as he was allegedly abducted.

He alleged that while the BJP has accused RJD candidate Ritlal Yadav of abducting Shah but the reality was different.

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"In Danapur, our candidate, Mutur Shah, was preparing to contest. However, he was allegedly kidnapped and could not reach the nomination centre. BJP has claimed that RJD's Ritlal Yadav threatened him, but the reality is different. Our candidate was last seen with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Where is the Election Commission now? Why is no action being taken?" added Kishor.

His comments come days after several Jan Suraaj leaders, including state spokesperson Amit Kumar Paswan, former district councillor Anita Kumari, and party founding member Karmveer Paswan, have joined the BJP in the past two days.

(With agency inputs)