Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, which failed to open its Bihar Assembly account, on Saturday (Nov 15, 2025) claimed that a section of its voters had defected to the BJP-led NDA “fearing a return of jungle raj under RJD”.
Addressing a press conference in Patna, a day after the poll results were announced, its national president Uday Singh also claimed that “polarization” had taken place in the Seemanchal area due to an explosion near Red Fort in Delhi, a day before the area was to hold elections on 11.
“I can say there was a fear of jungle raj returning under RJD. Although I am not saying there was any jungle raj, the fear was there. Many people who would have given us a chance ended up voting for the NDA because of this fear,” said Mr Singh, a former BJP MP.
He added, “Let me make a distinction here. I am saying that people had a problem with the RJD, not the Congress or other components of the opposition Mahagathbandhan.”
Mr. Singh, a former MP from Purnea, also said another factor came into play after the Delhi blast that claimed at least 13 lives.
“I was in the Seemanchal area and the incident really polarized votes,” he said.
He also lamented, “Our Muslim brothers have not put enough faith in us. This is despite the fact that we have been reaching out to them. But we are sure that they will support us in the long run.”
The party is said to have caught the fancy of the upper caste youth in particular by highlighting pressing issues like unemployment, migration and lack of industry in the state.
However, this did not translate into enough votes, despite a spirited campaign by Kishor and his team, and the party’s vote share stood at a paltry 4%, according to Mr. Singh.
Leader Jan Suraaj also said, “We are disappointed with the result of the House polls, but not angry. Even though we have not won a single seat, we will continue to oppose the ruling NDA.”
He claimed that “since June, before the polls were announced, the Nitish Kumar government spent ₹40,000 crore to ‘buy’ people’s votes with public money”.
“The scale was unprecedented. Even the money raised through the ₹14,000 crore World Bank loan was diverted to dollars and gifts,” claims Mr Singh, who is the younger brother of former Finance Commission chairman NK Singh.
Referring to the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, under which ₹10,000 was transferred to the bank accounts of women in the state, he said, “This must have been the first time that people were getting money only a day before voting, despite the model code of conduct. That was enough to affect women who could have been hand-to-mouth.”
Mr Singh said Jan Suraaj is now waiting to see “how the government will transfer the remaining ₹2 lakh it promised to women’s accounts in the state”.
He also claimed that space remained for the opposition in Bihar, despite the landslide victory of the NDA, which “got less than 50% of the total votes”.
Asked whether Prashant Kishor would remain active in politics as JD(U) won more than 25 seats, Mr Singh said, “You should ask that question only to Kishor”.
Mr Kishor had earlier claimed that he would quit politics if Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) won more than 25 seats. The party won 85 seats in the parliamentary elections.
But Mr Singh added, “We still believe that the NDA, including the JD(U), would have been decimated if public money was not spent on vote-buying. Please remember that it was only when Jan Suraaj’s party promised an old-age pension of ₹ 2,000 that the government increased the amount from ₹ 700 to ₹ 1,100 per month.”
He also played down allegations by the INDIA bloc, especially the Congress, of “vote-stealing” and said, “We believe that the names deleted during the SIR were mostly those who were dead or migrated to other places. Even if there were a few anomalies, they could not have been on such a large scale to make a big difference”.
The ruling NDA on Friday (Nov 14, 2025) decimated the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar to retain power, reaffirming the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the enduring appeal of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and dealing a blow to the Congress and RJD allies.
The enormity of the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) victory can be gauged from the fact that its two main constituents – the BJP and the JD(U) – achieved nearly 85% strike rates in the 101 seats they contested.
The alliance secured a “200 paar” victory for a three-quarter majority in the 243-member Bihar Assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party.
Published – 16 Nov 2025 04:20 IST
