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After Bankipur win, Prashant Kishor's party weighs Delhi expansion
Supporters of Jan Suraaj in the national capital have been pressing for the party to establish a presence in Delhi.
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After winning the Bankipur bypoll in August, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor is now facing calls from supporters for expansion, with its Delhi unit being discussed as a possible next step.
Supporters of Jan Suraaj in the national capital have been pressing for the party to establish a presence in the city, with a proposal likely to be raised with Kishor, the party’s founder, at a meeting on Sunday, news agency PTI reported.
The details were shared by Kumar Shantanu, a member of the party’s core committee, who teaches Botany at Delhi University’s Deshbandhu College.
Demand for Jan Suraaj Party's Delhi entry
“There is a strong demand from people associated with Jan Suraaj in Delhi that the party establish a presence here. But tomorrow's event is primarily about felicitating Kishor for his Bankipur victory,” Shantanu said, according to PTI.
He said any decision to enter electoral politics in Delhi would be taken after assessing the party’s prospects in the capital. The proposed Delhi chapter would be the party’s first major organisational expansion outside Bihar, where its political activity has so far been focused.
Shantanu said leaders of other political parties had not been invited to the closed-door event, while anyone interested in joining Jan Suraaj Party would be welcome.
Lawyer Tathagat Harsh Vardhan, son of former Buxar MP K K Tiwari, and former Himachal Pradesh additional director general of police J P Singh are also likely to attend. Both contested the 2025 Bihar assembly election as Jan Suraaj candidates.
From Bihar to Delhi
The party was founded by Kishor, a former election strategist who has worked with political parties across the spectrum. His campaign in Bihar focused on issues including education, employment and governance, and he spent months travelling across the state before Jan Suraaj was formally established as a political party.
The party faced its first major electoral test in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections, contesting 238 seats but failing to win any. Kishor did not contest the election himself.
The Bankipur bypoll in August marked Jan Suraaj’s first seat in the Bihar Assembly and Kishor’s first electoral victory as a candidate.
Kishor defeated BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar by 19,324 votes in the Patna constituency. He secured 64,151 votes, while Kumar received 44,827.
Any decision on whether Jan Suraaj will expand to Delhi, Shantanu said, rests with Kishor and the party leadership, PTI reported
(With PTI inputs)
