Prashant Kishor Admits Not Contesting Bihar Polls Was A ‘Mistake’ After Jan Suraaj Draws Blank: 'Played It blind…'

Prashant Kishor has now openly accepted that his decision not to contest the Bihar Assembly elections was a misstep. The poll strategist-turned-politician admitted that refraining from entering the fray cost his newly formed Jan Suraaj Party, which failed to win a single seat in its debut outing.

This self-assessment comes even as the NDA swept aside the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with 89 seats and the Janata Dal (United) close behind at 85. Other coalition partners also delivered strong strike rates, consolidating the ruling alliance’s decisive victory.

"You can consider that a mistake," Kishor told NDTV in an interview, reflecting on his choice to stay out of the contest while acknowledging the scale of his party’s electoral setback.

"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 per cent of the vote. I never did my own survey, I played it blind," he said.

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Tuesday acknowledged the failure of his party in the recent elections, admitting that the organisation was unable to bring about a change in power in Bihar. Further, he has taken a 'maun upvas' (vow of silence) for "failing to change the government".

Despite the setback, Kishor vowed to work twice as hard to fulfil his resolve to make Bihar better.

"We made an honest effort, but it was completely unsuccessful. There's no harm in admitting this. Forget about systemic change; we couldn't even bring about a change in power. But we certainly played some role in changing Bihar's politics." Kishor said at a press conference here.

Taking responsibility for the party's failure, Kishor said, "There must have been some mistake in our efforts, in our thinking, in the way we explained that the public had not elected us. If the public did not show faith in us, then the responsibility for that is completely mine. I take that responsibility 100 per cent on myself, that I could not win the faith of the people of Bihar."

As a mark of atonement, Kishor announced a day-long silent fast at the Gandhi Bhitiharwa Ashram on November 20th.

"I will work twice as hard as you've seen me work over the past three years and put in all my energy. There's no question of backing down. There's no turning back until I fulfil my resolve to make Bihar better. I failed to explain to the people of Bihar the basis on which they should vote and why they should create a new system. Therefore, as atonement, I will observe a day-long silent fast at the Gandhi Bhitiharwa Ashram on November 20th... " he said.

Kishor also defended his party's track record, saying, "We may have made mistakes, but we have not committed any crime. We have not committed the crime of spreading caste-based poison in society. We have not played Hindu-Muslim politics in Bihar. We have not committed the crime of dividing people in the name of religion. We have not committed the crime of giving money to the poor, innocent people of Bihar and buying their votes".

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Jan Suraaj failed to open an account in the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections. Even after garnering huge public support during the campaign, the party was unable to win a single seat. Jan Suraaj party had contested 238 of Bihar's 243 Assembly seat.

The ruling NDA got 202 seats, a three-fourths majority in the 243-member House. This is the second time the NDA has crossed the 200-mark in the assembly polls. In the 2010 polls, it had won 206 seats.

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In the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats, Janata Dal (United) won 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJPRV) won 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS) won five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha won four seats. In Mahagathbandhan, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won 25 seats.

( With ANI Inputs )