Open Challenge To Tejashwi Yadav? Buzz Over Prashant Kishor's Seat Choice

The countdown to the Bihar election has begun, and all parties are set to name their candidates for the big fight. Among them is Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party, which is gearing up for its electoral debut. The poll strategist-turned-politician has said Jan Suraaj's list of candidates will be announced this week. Speculation is also rife on which seat Kishore will contest.

During an interview last month, Kishor said he would contest the polls from Kargahar, his home seat, or Raghopur. The Kargahar seat is located in the Rohtas district and is currently held by the Congress's Santosh Kumar Mishra.

"Deliberations are on in the party, and if a collective decision is taken that I too enter the fray, then, as I also said in that interview, it has to be Kargahar or Raghopur," he said.

If the poll strategist eventually contests from Raghopur, he will face Tejashwi Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly and the man in charge of Rashtriya Janata Dal. Contesting from Raghopur will also send a strong political message. The seat in Vaishali district is an RJD bastion, earlier held by its founder, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and his wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, and is now represented by Tejashwi Yadav. In the past three decades, RJD has lost only one state election in Raghopur, when JDU's Satish Kumar Yadav defeated Rabri Devi in 2010.

So if Kishor contests from Raghopur, it will be an open challenge to Tejashwi Yadav in his bastion. At the same time, it will be a very tough fight because the RJD will go all-out to win the prestige battle.

A choice of Kargahar, however, would be a safer bet. The seat was created only in 2008, and in the three Assembly polls it has seen, JDU won twice and Congress once.

Kishor, who led a yatra through the state in 2022, claims significant support for Jan Suraaj that will reflect in the poll results. Mainstream party leaders, however, have dismissed Jan Suraaj and predicted a flop show for the debutant.

Some have also compared Prashant Kishor with Arvind Kejriwal and said his list of allegations against Bihar politicians was a desperate attempt to find a toehold in politics.