Prashant Kishor takes blame for Bihar election debacle, refuses to quit politics

In his first reaction following his party’s crushing defeat in the recently concluded Bihar Assembly elections, Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor observed a day-long maun upvas (vow of silence) to atone for what he described as his failure to bring about a change in government.

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Speaking to reporters, he accepted complete responsibility for the party’s dismal showing. “We made a sincere attempt. We could not change this government. We tried our best, but clearly something fell short. I take full responsibility because I wasn’t able to communicate effectively with the people. We will reflect on where we went wrong. I apologise for failing in our efforts. I will observe a maun upvas for a day,” the poll strategist-turned-politician said.

Faces setback, promises return

Kishor’s party, which fielded candidates in 238 of Bihar’s 243 constituencies, performed disastrously, failing to win even a single seat. Meanwhile, the ruling NDA, powered by the BJP and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), swept 202 seats, with the BJP securing 89 and the JD(U) 85, and Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) contributing 19 seats.

“We put in an honest effort, but it did not succeed at all. There is no hesitation in admitting this. Forget systemic change, we couldn’t even achieve a change in power. But we did play some part in altering the conversation in Bihar’s politics. Clearly, something went wrong in our approach, our ideas, or the way we conveyed our message. If the public didn’t trust us, the fault lies entirely with me,” he added.

Kishor also clarified that he would not step away from politics, an apparent contradiction of his earlier pre-poll statement that he would quit if the JD(U) crossed 25 seats. This time, however, he issued a fresh ultimatum: he vowed to retire from politics if the ruling alliance delivers on its promise of providing Rs 2 lakh each to 1.5 crore women.

Makes a new pledge to quit

“We will rise again with the same energy. Those who believe I will leave Bihar are mistaken. You are only defeated when you give up. My statement about JD(U) winning 25 seats still stands. If Nitish Kumar transfers Rs 2 lakh each to 1.5 crore women, proving that the victory wasn’t bought, I will exit politics without hesitation,” he said.

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Rejecting the Opposition’s claim that voters sold their votes, Kishor insisted, “That is false. For the first time in independent India, especially in Bihar, a government pledged to spend Rs 40,000 crore on people, and that is why the NDA got such a huge mandate. People here won’t trade their future or their children’s future. This debate is endless. Some are accusing the Election Commission, which is for them to pursue. But in every constituency, at least 60,000 to 62,000 people were given Rs 10,000 and promised a Rs 2 lakh loan. Government staff were deployed to tell people they would receive the loan if the NDA returned to power, and Jeevika Didis were also assigned this task.”