Bihar Elections: Weighing Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Candidates
Jan Suraj Chief Prashant Kishor (Image credit X.com)
As Bihar heads to the polls, Kishor’s elite experiment faces its toughest test—can technocrats win over voters weary of dynasties?
By AMIT KUMAR
New Delhi, October 11, 2025 — The first candidate list released by Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections has triggered sharp political debate, with experts arguing that the party’s choices reflect a tilt toward elitism rather than grassroots representation.
Speaking in a YouTube discussion with The Raisina Hills Editor Manish Anand, Bihar-based political observer Rajeshwar Jaiswal said Kishor appears to be “experimenting with elite caste politics,” nominating well-off professionals—especially doctors, professors, lawyers, and retired officers—while leaving out candidates with deep social outreach.
“Jan Suraaj has fielded several doctors and even a former IPS officer like R.K. Mishra from Bhagalpur,” Jaiswal noted. “But the irony is that these are precisely the sections of Bihar’s society that ordinary voters feel alienated from. Doctors run expensive private clinics, police officers rarely connect with the public, and their social concern is minimal,” he added.
Jaiswal argued that Kishor, despite his reputation as a master strategist, may be “living in a utopia,” overestimating the electoral appeal of professionals who can self-fund campaigns but lack mass connect. “He’s chosen candidates who can spend their own money. The party won’t have to invest much. But this approach distances him from the real Bihar,” he said.
The Jan Suraaj list, comprising 51 candidates, was the first to be released ahead of the two-phase Bihar polls—an early move meant to project preparedness and internal discipline. However, observers believe the move could backfire if voters perceive the candidates as disconnected elites rather than community representatives.
Jaiswal drew a sharp contrast with the Aam Aadmi Party’s 2013 Delhi model, dismissing comparisons as misplaced. “AAP was a genuine people’s movement. It had teachers, activists, and even an auto driver who got a ticket. Jan Suraaj, by contrast, charges ₹21,000 per application from those who wish to contest elections and favours affluent, high-profile aspirants. This isn’t a people’s party—it’s a poor copy of AAP,” he said.
He further questioned Kishor’s silence on Bihar’s health crisis. “If he truly stood for reform, he’d speak against the loot by private nursing homes. But instead, he has given tickets to the same class responsible for that system,” Jaiswal added.
Jaiswal concluded that Kishor’s strategy of blending “elite caste politics with controlled populism” might only fragment the NDA or INDIA blocs slightly but will struggle to form a sustainable alternative. “He is spreading the same caste and class divisions he once claimed to fight,” he said.
As Bihar gears up for elections, Kishor’s experiment with an educated elite may face its toughest test yet—whether Bihar’s voters, long cynical of political dynasties and professional outsiders alike, will buy into a campaign driven by technocrats rather than the toiling grassroots.
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