Prashant Kishor Back with Another Claim: "Nitish Kumar, Give Rs 2 Lakh to Women, I'll Leave Politics"

Poll strategist turned politician Prashant Kishor has issued a new political dare to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after his Jan Suraaj Party faced a major loss in the recently completed Bihar Assembly election.

Kishor admitted that his party failed in its first electoral performance and accepted full responsibility while saying that the promise of change could not be achieved this time.

Fresh dare to Nitish Kumar government

Kishor declared that he will walk away from politics if Nitish Kumar fulfils what he claimed was a pre-election assurance of transferring two lakh rupees to each of one point five crore women in Bihar. He said, "People are talking a lot about my remark on JD(U) winning 25 seats - I still stand by it. If Nitish Kumar transfers the ₹2 lakh he promised to 1.5 crore women and proves he didn't win by buying votes, I will definitely quit politics without any ifs and buts."

This statement connects to his earlier claim ahead of polling where he had predicted that JD(U) would not cross 25 seats in the election.

Allegations linked to vote buying

Reiterating his earlier assessment, he said that JD(U) would have ended at just 25 seats had money not been given to thousands of people in every constituency. Kishor stated, "Between Nitish Kumar and his victory, there is only one thing, buying of 60,000 votes in each assembly constituency at ₹10,000. It should be made clear whether it was a vote purchase or part of a self-employment programme."

Facing defeat and planning a comeback

While Nitish Kumar's party secured 85 out of the 101 seats it contested and BJP won 89 seats, Kishor's outfit could not claim a single victory out of the 243 constituencies it contested. Speaking about the result and the future of his political journey, he said, "We received a setback, but we will rectify the mistakes, build ourselves and come back stronger... there is no going back for us."

NDA prepares to return to power

Voting for the 243 seat Bihar Assembly concluded in two phases and the results were announced on November 14. Following a strong mandate, the NDA is preparing to form the next government in Bihar on November 20.