Prashant Kishor takes aim at Nitish Kumar: His prediction for what will end JD(U) govt

Expressing confidence that Jan Suraaj will come to power in Bihar in the 2025 Assembly polls, he said his party will lift the liquor ban “in 15 minutes of formation of the new government”.

“On October 2, we will announce our vision for Bihar and also the name of the party president. The party will have proportional representation of well-qualified people. We have covered only 60% of Bihar through our ‘Paidal Yatra (foot march)’. We will continue the yatra even after the formation of the political party,” he said.

Seeking to maintain equal distance from all leading political parties in the state, Kishor said, “We have made it clear several times that we will contest all 243 Assembly seats in Bihar. Even if we get 130 seats, I will take it as a personal defeat. Forming a government alone is not enough, we need the support of two-thirds majority to implement key policies… Ya to arsh par ya farsh par (Either we reach the top or we will fail). If we do not get people’s full support in the 2025 polls, we will work hard for another five years.”

He took on CM Nitish Kumar on his three key policies. “Triple S — sharab-bandi, (land) survey and smart meter installation across the state — will prove to be the last three nails in the coffin of the present Bihar government.

Those who attribute liquor ban to (Mahatma) Gandhi are invited to debate me and tell me where Gandhi-ji said liquor ban should be imposed through enactment of a law. He talked about social prohibition. I agree that liquor ban has its benefits but only if it is really enforced. This is why I say point-blank that we will lift the liquor ban in Bihar in 15 minutes of coming to power. Some people say if we do so, women would not vote for us. If that is the case, so be it. But I will keep telling the truth,” said Kishor.

The Jan Suraaj founder, who started his ‘Paidal Yatra’ on October 2, 2022, also dared the NDA government to resume land survey in Bihar. “Why did this government discontinue the land survey? It is because even they do not know in many cases about the real ownership of land. Land survey is not land reforms… We have learnt that huge money is being collected in the name of giving land documents to people,” said Kishor.

He said that installation of prepaid smart meters, already done in Patna and some other towns, will lead to utter chaos if people were forced to implement it across the state. Residents are complaining of inflated and incorrect bills after installation of prepaid smart meters, he said.

Kishor also took on the BJP and the RJD, “Both RJD and BJP try to seek votes by trying to terrorise people in name of each other,” he said.

Kishor’s new party will come up with its own model by February-March 2025 to deal with the problems of migration from Bihar. He said they have been working out a water management plan like China to deal with the problems of flood, waterlogging and drought. “We also have a model to provide world-class education to children below 15 years,” said Kishor, adding that earnings from cess on liquor could be used on education of children.

Calling the prohibition law in the state “fake”, he said Bihar is incurring a “loss of nearly Rs 20,000 crore every year”, while the “liquor mafia and officials continue to make money from illegal trade”.

Lashing out at CM Nitish, Kishor said he was holding on to power as if he had applied adhesive on his chair and the BJP, as his ally, bore the brunt of his “misrule” just like the Congress was “responsible for Lalu’s jungle raj”.

He claimed that he had advised Nitish not to become the CM when his party won only 42 seats in the last Assembly polls. “But Nitish Kumar accepted the offer and became the CM. This is the bond he has with the chair of CM,” he said.