Prashant Kishor's first reaction after Jan Suraaj's Bihar debacle: ‘Even though Abhimanyu was killed...’

Prashant Kishor, the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder and political strategist-turned-activist, on Tuesday reacted for the first time to the loss in the Bihar assembly elections. He reflected on the mistakes made in the assembly polls. Despite the considerable fanfare, his face card failed to translate its social media buzz into electoral success.

In his first post-election press conference, the 48-year-old JSP leader said, “There might have been mistakes on our part, but we haven’t committed any crime - not getting votes is not a crime. We did not do caste politics or indulge in Hindu-Muslim narratives,” according to an ANI report.

Key highlights from his 18 November address in Patna:

• Noted for creating a political movement from scratch in India's complex electoral landscape, he said, “We did not spread poison in society. We did not commit the crime of buying votes from poor and innocent people. Those who have done that will have to face the consequences of their actions.”

• Addressing his disappointed supporters, Prashant Kishor added, “Even though Abhimanyu was killed, that did not win them the Mahabharat - it was won by those on the just side. The victory will be ours.”
• Exuding confidence in making a strong comeback in the next polls, he said, “Received setback but will rectify mistakes, build ourselves, come back stronger; no going back for us.”

• On JSP's disappointing performance in Bihar polls, Prashant Kishor said, “Made honest effort but failed, I take cent per cent responsibility," PTI reported.
• During the Patna press conference, JSP founder challenged Nitish Kumar-led NDA and said, “Will definitely quit politics if Nitish govt gives ₹2 lakh each to ₹1.5 crore people as promised before polls.”
• Prashant Kishor argued that Janata Dal United (JDU) would not have won more than 25 seats in the Bihar polls if the Nitish Kumar-led government had not transferred ₹10,000 to women's accounts. He alleged that it was a key factor in the NDA's victory. Notably, JDU secured 85 seats in the Bihar polls.
• “People have given a mandate to NDA; now it's on the shoulders of Modi, Nitish to work on fulfilling their poll promises,” Prashant Kishor added.

Although the Jan Suraaj Party garnered 3.5% of the total vote share in the Bihar polls, it failed to secure even a single seat. Election Commission of India (ECI) data shows that it secured nil seats in the 238 seats it contested. JSP's performance was remarkably close to predictions made by VoteVibe. This exit poll had projected 0-2 seats and 5.2% vote share.

The 14 November election results revealed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats while the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) secured 25. The Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas (LJPRV) seat tally stood at 19, with the Indian National Congress (INC) securing only 6 seats.