- Prashant Kishor regretted not contesting Bihar assembly elections with Jan Suraaj party
- Jan Suraaj secured only about 4% votes against an expected 12-15% in its debut poll
- Kishor focused on party organisation rather than contesting the elections himself
Former election strategist Prashant Kishor has expressed regret for not contesting the recently-held Bihar assembly elections, in which his Jan Suraaj party failed to open an account during its debut.
"You can consider that a mistake," Kishor said when asked by NDTV's Rahul Kanwak if he regretted not standing in the poll fray.
"If I knew that I would lose, why would I put my resources, money and credibility at stake? I would have easily used all these resources to become an MP or MLA. If I knew that the Jan Suraaj would lose, why would I take such a big risk? I never knew that the party would get 4% of the vote. I never did my own survey, I played it blind," he added.
He also said his party, which contested 238 of the 243 assembly seats, expected a vote share of 12% to 15%. "But if it came to 3.5%, we need to analyse," he said.
The exit polls had also predicted a flop for the Jan Suraaj party on its electoral debut.
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The Jan Suraaj was seen as the 'X factor' in this election since Kishor, as a poll strategist, has an enviable track record of orchestrating big-ticket poll victories, having done so at least three times. He decided not to contest the crucial elections, in order to focus on strengthening his party's organisational basis.
"No, I won't contest. The party has decided. I will continue to do the work I have been doing in the party. I will continue with the organisational work for the larger interest of the party," he had told news agency PTI.
In the two-phased assembly elections that were held on November 6 and 11 and the results of which were announced on Friday, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) stormed to power in Bihar, winning 202 seats in the assembly, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagging 89, Janata Dal (United) 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) five and Rashtriya Lok Morcha four.
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The Rashtriya Janata Dal-led Opposition bloc - Mahagathbandhan - could only manage 35 seats. While the RJD got just 25 seats, its second-worst performance in a Bihar election after 2010, the Congress won six seats, down from 19, the CPI(ML)L two seats, the CPI(M) one, and the CPI zero.
Earlier, Kishor said his party made an honest effort to make people understand the issues facing them but failed to make a mark in the polls, and that he took full responsibility for the debacle.
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"Yes, I failed to understand Bihar, unlike Nitish Kumar, BJP leader Samrat Choudhary and others who divided people on caste and religious lines and bought votes of people using money... To not get votes is not a crime... at least I have not indulged in corruption or divisive politics," he said.
Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM won five seats, while Mukesh Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party also failed to open its account.
