The fledgling Jan Suraaj Party failed to gain traction as Bihar held polls for four assembly segments. Candidates of the Prashant Kishor-led group lost deposits in all but one seat as votes were counted on Saturday. Meanwhile, the ruling NDA swept the polls – retaining Imamganj and removing Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj from the INDIA block.

However, party chief Prashant Kishor brushed off concerns over the poll results, highlighting the fact that his fledgling party won “10%” of the total votes in the four seats. He also reiterated plans for Jan Suraaj to contest “all 243 seats” solo in the 2025 assembly elections.

“We have secured 10% votes….. in places where Jan Suraaj had no presence as these areas were not yet covered by my padyatra. Also note that we received our voting token after the submission of nomination papers was over. We were initially written off but by garnering around 10 per cent votes, in a state known for voting on predictable caste lines, we have proved a point,” he said.

Kishor also rejected claims that his party had played a role in the losses suffered by the RJD. He insisted that Jan Suraaj only saw a fight against the NDA and dismissed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as “no factor” in the outcome. The former JD(U) leader called the party supremo a “used force” and claimed that candidate Manorama Devi had won on her own.

“RJD is a 30-year-old party. The son of its state president finished third. Can Jan Suraaj be blamed for that? In Belaganj, all the Muslim votes went to the JD(U) candidate. In Imamganj, Jan Suraaj cut into NDA votes. Otherwise, the margin of victory for (Union minister) Jitan Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha would have been greater,” he added.

(With input from agencies)