‘Won’t Contest Bihar Polls’: Prashant Kishor To Focus On Party’s Organisational Work

Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Wednesday announced that he will not be contesting the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The Jan Suraaj Party founder confirmed that his party has decided he should focus on organisational work instead of entering the electoral fray himself.”No, I won’t contest. Party has decided… I will continue to do the work I have been doing in the party.

I will continue with the organisational work for the larger interest of the party,” Kishor told news agency PTI, putting an end to weeks of speculation.The announcement clarifies his role after he had earlier hinted at the possibility of contesting from either his birthplace, Kargahar, or from Raghopur. The party had already signaled this move on Tuesday when it announced Chanchal Singh as its candidate for the Raghopur seat.

In its first list of candidates, Jan Suraaj has fielded popular Bhojpuri singer Ritesh Pandey from Kargahar.The decision comes as Bihar heads into a two-phase election for its 243 Assembly seats on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 14. Currently, the ruling NDA coalition holds 131 seats, while the opposition Mahagathbandhan has 111 seats in the state assembly.