Bihar polls | More than 1 crore 'labh cards' distributed: How they help Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party

Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj, the new contestant in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, has recycled its own formula to reach out to people.

During the 2020 Delhi assembly elections, when Kishor worked as a strategist for the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, he had distributed "guarantee cards" to consolidate public connect with the party. In Bihar, he has distributed "labh cards" (benefit cards).

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According to a party leader, one crore cards have already been distributed among the public with a target to reach out to around 2 crore people.

"We were first hopeless that the new party may not get desired reception among people, but people came in droves. As in one booth, we went with just 100 labh cards, but more people came and wanted it, we managed more cards quickly and ended up giving more than 400 cards,” a young Jan Suraaj leader says.

According to Jan Suraaj leaders, the benefits listed are not entirely financial in nature, but seek to touch multiple aspects of everyday life.

“An elderly member in a family will receive a pension of more than Rs 2,000. There will be job opportunities worth around Rs 12,000, and education—along with other welfare measures—will also be included,” a senior leader explained.

Using this personalised and physical document, the party hopes to inspire trust among the electorate—particularly in rural Bihar, where welfare promises have earlier resonated strongly.

In 2020, Kejriwal had retained his government with sweeping majority scoring 62 out of 70 assembly seats in Delhi, as the "guarantee card" was seen as one of the attractive manifesto deployments of the party.

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However, the Delhi-based party already had a strong cadre, hyper-visibility, and governance experience, which all factored in to create a collective impact. The AAP analogy seems to be missing with Jan Suraaj.

"There two big differences between Delhi and Bihar: one is the population difference and another is the difference in area," a political analyst said.

"Delhi's population is mostly urban and well-connected, which amplifies a good campaign into a bigger one, and secondly, Delhi has a small area which helps leaders reach out to almost everyone, which is not the case with Bihar,” the analyst added.

The party is also relying heavily on a “messaging approach”, depending largely on the construction of its narrative. However, its weak organisational structure and a lack of adequately trained youth on the ground have perhaps created a sense of languor within the cadre.

In contrast, party chief Prashant Kishor has remained ceaselessly active, giving answers to the media and attending almost every interview that has some viewership.

Yet, the road ahead may not be smooth. Party insiders say that the momentum in Bihar’s political landscape is currently tilted towards the Opposition.

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The Opposition bloc has gained visibility and strength through back-to-back yatras across the state, which have helped consolidate their voter base. These yatras have also amplified their core message: that the ruling dispensation at the Centre has manipulated the electoral process and “stolen votes”, which has unceremonously helped the saffron camp repeatedly return to power.

Jan Suraaj’s leadership acknowledges that this is a growing challenge for digging their heels deeper in the state's political turf, noting that the Mahagathbandhan's efforts have put pressure back on new entrants.

While Kishor’s campaign banks on his past successes as a strategist, the Bihar contest may prove to be a far tougher test of whether innovative outreach methods like the “labh card” can truly shift the electoral game.