In run-up to Assembly elections, Prashant shifts focus to NDA

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor seems to have changed his tactics. In the last one month, he has primarily targeted the ruling NDA, almost ignoring the RJD and its allies — the parties he had been criticising for over two years during his yatra.

“What is there to say about the RJD? Tejashwi said his party would come out with a list of corrupt politicians. He will have to start with his parents,” Kishor remarked with a shrug.

The Jan Suraaj chief said that he did not have any personal enmity with any leader. “But persons facing serious charges are holding important posts,” he said, adding that he would continue his struggle against corrupt politicians.

“Prashant Kishor has ensured that he is alone on the anti-corruption plank. Corruption is an issue that touches the grassroots. It may not result in votes, but it strikes a chord with the masses,” said former MLC Prem Kumar Mani.

Recalling a recent taxi ride in Delhi, Mani said the driver, who happened to hail from Banka district in Bihar, swore that several taxi drivers would vote for Kishor because he sounded right on corruption-related issues.

The current stance also suits Kishor’s political strategy. In the coming elections, he may not emerge as a winner but he is aiming to make the Jan Suraaj a third force, and perhaps the king-maker.

Jan Suraaj leader and former BJP vice-president Sudhir Kumar said, “We will need NDA voters to cross over to our party.”

In his purported struggle against corrupt leaders, Kishor has gone against the ‘big ones’ in Bihar. Three days ago, the party sent a letter to PM Modi, asking him to dismiss Samrat Choudhary because he faced murder charges in the past. Choudhary is not only the Deputy CM, but is said to be the BJP’s unannounced CM face.

Choudhary, then named Rakesh Kumar, was an accused in a 1995 shootout that resulted in the killing of six persons. He was later acquitted in the Supreme Court, where he had also submitted an affidavit, claiming that he was a minor at the time of the incident.

The Jan Suraaj has also alleged Choudhary’s involvement in the infamous Gautam and Shilpi death case, in which the two were found dead inside a car. Interestingly, there was another Rakesh Kumar, who was a friend of Gautam and was under the scanner of the CBI. The CBI closed the case in 2004, attributing the deaths to carbon monoxide poisoning.

In his defence, Samrat Choudhary told this correspondent that the Jan Suraaj had not said anything that had not been mentioned in his affidavit. He further alleged that he was falsely framed in the murder case by the Lalu Prasad government.

Besides Choudhary, Health Minister Mangal Pandey has also been accused of showing a loan while purchasing a flat when his wife had over Rs 2 crore in her account.

Meanwhile, former BJP state president and Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Jaiswal was accused of getting ‘fake petrol purchase’ on government vehicles from his petrol pump. JD(U) minister Ashok Choudhary has been accused of purchasing land to the tune of Rs 200 crore through a trust.

All these leaders have denied the charges. But the BJP insiders say damage has been done before the Assembly elections. “That is why, Home Minister Amit Shah, in his recent visit to Bihar, set a target of 160 seats for the NDA, instead of boasting about winning 225 seats in the 243-member House,” said a senior BJP leader.

In the run-up to the poll, the Jan Suraaj has realised that the NDA vote bank is easier to break than that of the opposition Mahagathbandhan, which comprises of a consolidated Muslim-Yadav combine. Experts believe it is because Kishor himself hails from the Brahmin community and it is very difficult to break caste barriers in Bihar, despite how much he may be admired.

The Jan Suraaj is set to announce its first list of candidates on October 9. “Our political strategy would have paid off if we can win 30 or 40 seats,” said a senior party leader ahead of the announcement.