Prashant Will end liquor ban in 15 minutes if Jan Suraaj Party comes to power, use revenue for education: Kishor

The party was floated exactly two years after Kishor had embarked on a more than 3,000-km-long 'padayatra' of the state in a bid to mobilise the people for a "new political alternative"

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: October 2, 2024 09:26 PM IST

3 min read

Political strategist Prashant Kishor officially launched his party, the Jan Suraaj Party, at the Veterinary College Ground in Patna on Wednesday.

Addressing a rally, he said, “For Bihar to achieve a world-class education system, an investment of Rs 5 lakh crore is required over the next 10 years. Once the liquor ban is lifted, that money will not be allocated to the budget, nor will it be spent on the security of leaders, roads, water, or electricity. Instead, it will be dedicated solely to establishing a new education system in Bihar. Currently, Bihar incurs a loss of Rs 20,000 crore each year due to the liquor ban.”

The party was floated exactly two years after Kishor had embarked on a more than 3,000-km-long ‘padayatra’ of the state, from Champaran where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the first Satyagraha in the country, in a bid to mobilise the people for a “new political alternative” that could cure Bihar of its chronic backwardness.

The event featured prominent figures such as former Union minister Devendra Prasad Yadav and diplomat Pavan Varma. Kishor’s launch coincides with the second anniversary of his 3,000-km ‘padayatra’ across Bihar.

In July, Kishor, while announcing his decision to float a new party, had said he would contest all the 243 seats in Bihar in next year’s Assembly polls.

Also Read | His 20 years in power will be remembered for wasted opportunities: Prashant Kishor attacks Nitish

Soon after he had led Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress to a landslide victory in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls, Kishor had announced that he was stepping away from political strategising and would cover the length and breadth of Bihar in a yatra starting October 2, 2022, before a formal plunge into politics.

Kishor has claimed that his aim for Jan Suraaj is to create a distinct constituency for his party, in a state that remains among the most backward in the country, and where the dominant parties are the RJD, BJP and JD(U). Key to that has been Kishor’s appeal to the Dalits and Muslims to stop voting along caste and religious lines, and to keep “the future of their children” in mind.

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Since 1990, Bihar has been helmed by leaders who grew out of social justice politics, be it the RJD’s Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, or current Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar. Incidentally, Kishor’s first foray into politics was via the JD(U), with Nitish appointing him to a senior post soon after he had joined the party.

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