E-Paper
As Nitish takes 10th CM oath in grand ceremony, Prashant Kishor settles for ‘mute introspection'
At Bhitiharwa Gandhi Ashram, Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor marked the day with a reflective ‘maun vrat.’
As Patna’s streets erupted in celebration on Thursday with the NDA returning to power, a contrasting quiet enveloped the Jan Suraaj camp. While JD(U) president Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Bihar chief minister for a record tenth time at a grand ceremony in Gandhi Maidan, Jan Suraaj founder Prashant did silent introspection of the poll debacle.
Prashant Kishor sat on a ‘maun vrat’ at an ashram, as he promised earlier this week, to ‘repent’ the humiliating Bihar election performance of his newly floated party. Follow Bihar government formation live updates
“With top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and JP Nadda, attending the swearing-in, Gandhi Maidan was buzzing. But at Bhitiharwa Gandhi Ashram, Kishor marked the day with a reflective ‘maun vrat’ – what he described as a personal atonement for his party’s electoral wipeout.”
Speaking earlier this week for the first time after the poll setback, Kishor admitted he had failed to communicate his vision to voters. “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 had said.
Jan Suraaj’s big stakes, bigger slip
Once touted as the potential 'X factor' in the Bihar election, the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) ended up drawing a blank in the 243-member Assembly.
Contesting 238 seats, the party failed to make a breakthrough despite a high-decibel campaign that focused on unemployment, migration and industrial gaps.
Election Commission data cited by news agency PTI, shows that most JSP candidates secured less than 10% of the total votes and are set to forfeit their deposits. In several constituencies, JSP nominees even polled fewer votes than NOTA.
The party’s best showing came from Marhaura, where Naveen Kumar Singh alias Abhay Singh finished second. RJD’s Jitendra Kumar Rai won the seat with a margin of 27,928 votes.
