The Jan Suraaj Party, headed by popular poll strategist Prashant Kishor, has hit the streets again after failing to make a mark in last year’s assembly elections in Bihar. His latest street political battle is being seen as the second phase of his political journey, where he is primarily expected to function as a pressure group against the government’s missteps to gain public confidence and build a cadre for his party.
Addressing a gathering while launching the Bihar Navnirman Abhiyan in West Champaran recently, Kishor said, “Before the assembly polls, our yatra was like riding a horse that was moving without knowing what it wanted to do. Now that the election results are out, people have given the NDA a mandate to rule, the RJD to sit in the Opposition, and the JSP to hit the roads again. So, we are here to take up public concerns.”
Kishor also claimed that the JSP should be credited for the Nitish government hiking the social security pension from ₹400 to ₹1,100. He said, “Now, we will keep the pressure on the government to give each prospective woman entrepreneur ₹2 lakh, or else it would appear that the ₹10,000 given before the polls was merely an election gimmick.”
Kishor cited the cash transfer promised to women during the Bihar assembly elections as a major reason for his party’s poor performance. He had also said in media interviews that if the government fulfils its promise of paying ₹2 lakh to women, he will quit politics.
Interestingly, while traditional political parties hit the streets during the election season, Prashant Kishor has done so just after losing the elections, setting up what appears to be a long political venture aimed at sustaining his presence. “The Bihar elections are five years away. Since he has announced his yatra again, there will be more he plans to do to keep himself relevant, and he will try to maintain a stronger ground presence than the primary opposition, the RJD,” a political analyst said. “Opposition parties will counter the JD(U)-BJP-led government in the legislative assembly, and he will try to ensure that people associate more with his party than with the Opposition.”
The party, in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections, forfeited its deposit on 235 of the 238 seats it contested out of the state’s 243 seats. However, it managed to secure more than a 3 per cent vote share. Notably, the party did not concentrate its efforts on a few seats to build bastions and repeatedly said it would focus on all constituencies equally, signalling long-term plans and a wider political agenda.
Party leaders believe that people in Bihar need to see the party on the ground for a longer period; only then can it build trust and convince voters of the developmental agenda it promises if voted to power, thereby positioning the JSP as a credible alternative. During the elections, the party was widely visible on social media and in urban areas. However, in most of the rural areas, the party neither had a strong cadre base nor any popularity.
"Our party had a lot of digital footprints on social media platforms in Bihar during assembly election campaign, a lot of people liked us but we couldn't create a solid front that could show people that we are better than BJP or RJD because of cadre limitations," a Jan Suraaj Party leader said, adding, "now those memories about us with people is going to help us build cadre as lot many people already believe that we are the only party that could change Bihar."
