Former National Vice President of JD(U), Prashant Kishor, is set to launch his political party, Jan Suraaj, on October 2. Known for helping other leaders win elections, the prominent political strategist Kishor is now ready to step into the political arena himself. However, he has been conducting a padyatra (foot march) across Bihar since October 2022.
State assembly elections are scheduled in Bihar at the end of 2025.
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Before the launch, district-wise announcements of the party’s executive committee are being made. Hundreds of names are included in each district’s list. However, many leaders listed are active members of other parties, or Jan Suaraj neither took their consent nor informed them.
Names of JDU, RJD, and Congress Officials
The list of the Jan Suraaj District Executive Committee for Kishanganj district includes the name of Md. Zaid Aziz as District Secretary. Zaid is the Mukhiya (village head) of Tulsia Panchayat under Dighalbank block. When the Jan Suraaj list was released on August 20, 2024, Zaid was the District Vice President of JD(U). Currently, the JD(U) district committee has been dissolved.
Zaid says, “I was made the District Secretary of Jan Suraaj without my knowledge. Their people met with me, but I am neither associated with Jan Suraj nor interested in joining.”
After his name appeared on the list, Zaid spoke to the responsible people of Jan Suraaj, but his name is still in the list.
According to a source previously associated with the Jan Suraaj movement, efforts are made to include active leaders up to the panchayat level in each district. Such leaders are often already associated with some party. After meeting with these leaders, their profiling is done, and an excel sheet is prepared and sent upwards. The people at the top add names to the list without checking and without obtaining the leaders’ consent. This is why the executive committee had to be dissolved in several places after Prashant Kishor’s padyatra.
There are also cases where leaders were added to the list although they never attended any Jan Suraaj meeting or event. Vinod is one such case.
Vinod Victor Rishidev, who hails from Palasi in Araria district, is associated with RJD’s youth wing. Without any discussion or meeting, Victor’s name was added to the detailed list of officials and members of the Jan Suraaj District Executive Committee of Araria district.
“I have no contact with Jan Suraaj; they didn’t even ask me once. It seems someone added my name on their recommendation. They never spoke to me on the phone, nor did I ever attend any of their programs,” Victor told ‘Main Media.’
Victor further says, “I have informed my party, and RJD will take action against them.”
Similarly, the name of Md. Mojibur Rahman is included in the Katihar District Executive Committee. Rahman is the District President of JD(U)’s Minority Wing. Rahman says, “Jan Suraaj is an agency, not a party. These people are specifically targeting Muslims to make them leave regional parties.”
Rahman further says, “They didn’t even spell my name correctly in the list; they couldn’t even be dishonest properly.”
According to Jan Suraaj’s website, their organisation has 10 million members and 1.2 million officials. Additionally, there are 20,000 youth clubs, over 5,000 Jan Suraaj Vahinis, and more than 100,000 digital warriors.
The name of Youth Congress leader Md. Izhar Ali is also included in the Katihar list. Izhar and his wife are councilors from Ward Nos. 23 and 24 of Katihar Municipal Corporation, respectively. Izhar says, “I am with Congress. The Jan Suraaj people approached me multiple times, but I refused. They added my name without consent. Once, I was invited to meet Prashant Kishor. After that, they tried hard, but I refused. I never signed any consent form for them, nor did I agree.”
“We will see the party in a couple of elections after it’s formed, whether it will flee or help the BJP,” says Youth Congress District Vice President Izhar further.
‘Preparing for Elections with BJP’
Vishwanath Mishra, a resident of Charauth block in Sitamarhi district, has been associated with BJP for the past 38 years. He is preparing to contest elections from the Sursand Assembly constituency. Former Zila Parishad member Vishwanath says, “I have never been associated with Jan Suraaj. I have neither given any consent nor signed any papers for them. I have been with BJP since 1986.”
Rajesh Karnani, who was the Kishanganj District Coordinator of BJP’s Business Cell for three consecutive terms, resigned from BJP about a year ago, but he still considers himself a ‘BJP supporter.’ When asked about joining the Jan Suraaj District Executive Committee, he said, “Currently, I am a BJP supporter. My name has been added to that list without my consent. Even my father’s name is incorrectly written in the list. My father’s name is Late Satyanarayan Karnani, but in the list, it is written as Muktinath Shah.”
Sikandar Patel, the Mukhya Parshad (Chief Councilor) of Thakurganj Nagar Panchayat in Kishanganj district, is also named in the Kishanganj District Executive Committee. Sikandar says, “I am associated with Jan Suraj, but I declined to be included in any post or committee because I don’t have time.”
Names in the List But No Information
In the list of Jan Suraaj District Executive Committee for Katihar district, the name of Mohammad Moazzam Hussain is included. Moazzam is the Mukhiya (village head) of Imadpur Panchayat under Barsoi block and is currently preparing to contest elections from the Balrampur Assembly constituency. In the early days, he was associated with the Jan Suraaj movement, but he distanced himself after Prashant Kishor’s predictions in favor of BJP during the Lok Sabha elections.
“When Prashant Kishor said during the Lok Sabha elections that Modi ji is coming back strongly, I distanced myself from them and informed them as well. I told them I am not in your organisation,” says Moazzam.
When informed about his name being on the District Executive Committee list, he was surprised and said that he would write to them and have his name removed.
Notably, during the last Lok Sabha elections, Prashant Kishor claimed that BJP would perform better this time compared to 2019. However, his prediction turned out to be wrong after the election results. BJP secured 282 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, 303 in 2019, but this time the party fell below the majority mark of 272, securing only 240 seats.
After the election results, Prashant Kishor faced sharp questions from the public and media. He also began to be seen as a BJP supporter among anti-BJP voters. People started believing that Prashant was trying to create a favorable atmosphere for BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
A source associated with the Jan Suraaj told us that after the Lok Sabha results, they are facing difficulties in convincing Muslim leaders.
In addition to Kishor’s prediction, his statement in Araria in May this year also distanced Muslim leaders from the campaign. In response to a question in Seemanchal, he had said, “If Muslims want to join, they can; if they don’t want to, that’s okay too.”
The name of Mohammad Izhar Alam, the husband of Gazala Praveen, the Mukhiya of Alampur Panchayat in Azamnagar block of Katihar district, is also included in the list, but he has no information about it.
“I am not aware. People come to meet, we talk, but I am not connected with them,” Izhar told ‘Main Media.’
Retired Airforce officer Javed Alam, who runs a private school in Azamnagar block of Katihar, and his wife Tahseen Fatima’s names were also added to the District Executive Committee list without their consent.
What Does Jan Suraaj Say?
When asked, Professor Musawwir Alam, the District President of Jan Suraaj in Kishanganj, admitted that the list includes several names that he knows are associated with other parties.
“Those whose names are in the list must have certainly taken membership. Prashant ji’s team has gone door to door to make such people members. Soon, we will conduct a review meeting and issue a phone number so that those who do not wish to remain in the District Executive Committee can inform us. There is no problem; such people will be removed,” says Musawwir.
Meanwhile, Jan Suraaj spokesperson Syed Masiuddin says, “It is simply not possible that someone’s name is on the list without their consent. The names that come from below are visited by our people three to four times. It is absolutely impossible for someone’s name to be on the list without their consent.”
Among all the people we spoke to for this news, only one person, Md. Zaid Aziz, mentioned that he might have filled out a form.
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