Former election strategist Prashant Kishor announced on Sunday that his Jan Suraaj campaign is set to transform into a political party on October 2, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti, and will participate in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections next year. Kishor made this declaration while speaking at a “state-level workshop” of Jan Suraaj, which was attended by various individuals, including two former lawmakers and a granddaughter of the late socialist figure Karpoori Thakur, who have joined the campaign.
“As previously mentioned, Jan Suraaj will evolve into a political entity on October 2 and will actively engage in the assembly elections next year. Further specifics, such as the leadership of the party, will be determined in the future,” stated Kishor, who initiated the campaign two years ago. He extended a warm welcome to Jagriti Thakur, whose father Virendra Nath Thakur is the younger son of Karpoori Thakur, a former Bihar Chief Minister and a recipient of the Bharat Ratna award.
Karpoori Thakur, who is widely regarded as a mentor to numerous prominent leaders in the state, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD president Lalu Prasad, has had a significant influence. Thakur’s elder son Ram Nath Thakur serves as a JD(U) Member of Parliament and a Union Minister of state.
Among the notable figures who have joined Jan Suraaj are Monazir Hasan, a former Bihar minister with a political background in both RJD and JD(U), having served multiple terms in both the Parliament and the state legislature. Other notable additions include former RJD MLC Rambali Singh Chandravanshi, who was recently removed from the legislative council due to disciplinary issues, and Anand Mishra, a former IPS officer who resigned from service with hopes of securing a BJP ticket but eventually contested the Lok Sabha elections from Buxar as an Independent candidate after being denied the ticket. Another new member is Priyanka, the daughter of JD(U) leader Mangani Lal Mandal, a former Member of Parliament and ex-MLA.
Prashant Kishor, the founder of IPAC, a political consultancy firm, gained prominence during the successful 2014 Lok Sabha campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He later assisted Nitish Kumar during the 2015 assembly polls, impressing Kumar with his strategic abilities, leading to his induction into JD(U) in 2018.
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