There had been widespread speculation that Kishor would contest from Raghopur, the assembly seat in Vaishali district long associated with former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav. However, Kishor decided not to enter the fray himself.
Explaining his decision in an interview with News18, he said contesting would have limited his ability to lead the campaign effectively. “I would have contested if Nitish Kumar had. But he is not. If I wanted to become an MP, I could have asked anyone… you think if I called Didi and asked for a Rajya Sabha seat, she would have said no?” he remarked, underscoring his focus on organization-building rather than individual ambition.
Kishor has also set an ambitious benchmark for his fledgling outfit. He said that even if Jan Suraaj wins 140 seats, he would consider it a setback, insisting that his mission goes beyond electoral success. “I am not the king. I am the kingmaker,” he said.
In Bihar’s 243-member Assembly, a party or alliance needs 122 seats for a majority.
Although Kishor formally launched Jan Suraaj a little over a year ago, he has been on the ground for more than three years, travelling across the state to engage with local communities.
“That yatra had no resonance. It doesn’t matter. It’s not an issue. You all go gaga over a yatra which lasted for 10 days, and no one speaks about mine which I did for months. I have given up all — my wealth, work, family — and put into this for the people of Bihar,” he told News18, defending his prolonged grassroots outreach.
For Kishor, the elections are a direct contest between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Jan Suraaj, with the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) projected to finish third.
Political observers will be watching closely to see whether Kishor’s party can disrupt the traditional power equations and cut into the vote share of both the NDA and the INDIA bloc.
One of the key questions surrounding the election is whether Jan Suraaj can replicate the vote-splitting effect of Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in 2020.
In that election, the LJP broke away from the NDA and fielded candidates in 134 constituencies, mainly against Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) but not against the BJP.
Although the LJP won only one seat, it dented the JD(U)’s prospects in several constituencies, helping the BJP outperform its ally. The BJP won 74 of the 110 seats it contested, a strike rate of 67.3%, while the JD(U) managed 43 of 115 seats, or 37.4%. The LJP’s lone MLA later joined the JD(U).
