Prashant Kishor Vows No Turning Back Despite Bihar Poll Debacle

Prashant Kishor, who spoke for the first time after the Bihar polls in which his party failed to open its account, said there must have been some mistake in the party's efforts that its candidates were not elected.

"We made an honest effort, but it was completely unsuccessful. There's no harm in admitting this. Forget about systemic change; we couldn't even bring about a change in power. But we certainly played some role in changing Bihar's politics...There must have been some mistake in our efforts, in our thinking, in the way we explained that the public had not elected us. If the public did not show faith in us, then the responsibility for that is completely mine. I take that responsibility 100% on myself, that I could not win the faith of the people of Bihar," Kishor told the media here.

On his claim that JD-U will not win more than 25 seats, Prashant Kishor said he did not say he would stop speaking for the people of Bihar.

"What position am I holding that I should resign? I had said that if (JDU) gets more than 25 seats, I will retire. From which position should I resign? I did not say that I will leave Bihar. I have left politics. I do not do politics, but I did not say that I will stop speaking for the people of Bihar," he said.

Kishor said he will observe a day-long silent fast at the Gandhi Bhitiharwa Ashram on November 20.

"I will work twice as hard as you've seen me work over the past three years and put in all my energy. There's no question of backing down. There's no turning back until I fulfil my resolve to make Bihar better."

"I failed to explain to the people of Bihar the basis on which they should vote and why they should create a new system. Therefore, as atonement, I will observe a day-long silent fast at the Gandhi Bhitiharwa Ashram on November 20th... We may have made mistakes, but we have not committed any crime," he said.

"We have not committed the crime of spreading caste-based poison in society. We have not played Hindu-Muslim politics in Bihar. We have not committed the crime of dividing people in the name of religion. We have not committed the crime of giving money to the poor, innocent people of Bihar and buying their votes," he added.

He said that the NDA government spent a huge amount of public money was spent and promises made just ahead of elections to get votes of women voters.

He said there is a discussion happening on Rs 10000 given to over 1.20 crore women under Mukhyamantri Rojgar Yojana, but the government has promised much more.

"For the first time in the history of independent India, and especially in Bihar, something like this has happened, an election in which the government has promised to spend nearly Rs 40,000 crore of the public's money. And I believe this is the only reason why the NDA received such a large majority. I want to draw your attention to the big discussion happening about Rs 10,000... people are saying that people sold their votes for Rs 10,000. This is absolutely not true. I still believe that the people of Bihar will not sell their vote or their children's future for Rs 10,000," he said.

"I have just one question: in every assembly constituency, at least 60,000 - 62,000 people were directly given Rs 10,000 by the government. And it was said that for self-employment, they would be given Rs 2,00,000, of which Rs 10,000 was given as the first instalment. And the entire government machinery was deployed to tell the people that if they vote for the NDA, they would not only get Rs 10,000 now but also receive support of up to Rs 2,00,000 in the coming days," he added.

Kishor alleged that the government machinery was used to lure voters, with Jeevika didis mobilised and ASHA workers' salaries increased. He claimed that nearly Rs 29,000 crore was spent on various programs.

"To make this happen, the whole government apparatus was engaged... the Jeevika didis were mobilized, the salaries and honorarium of ASHA workers were increased. Nearly 1,00,000 Anganwadi workers, ASHA workers..... Along with this, Vikas Mitras and Tola Sevaks were given Rs 25,000 at once, and migrant labourers who returned from outside were given Rs 5,000 in the name of clothing. Altogether, this amounts to around Rs 29,000 crore, and announcements were made for schemes worth Rs 40,000 crore," he said.

Kishor urged the NDA government to transfer the promised amount within six months of coming to power or else it would "become clear" that the amount of Rs 10,000 was to "buy votes".

"We are not sitting here to say that we lost because of this... My direct request to the government is: You have promised to give Rs 2,00,000. The people have given you their votes. Now that you are in power, please arrange to give all the 1.50 crore women to whom you have given Rs 10,000 the full amount of Rs 2,00,000 within the next six months. And if you do not do this, it will become clear that the Rs 1,000 was not given as part of a welfare scheme but as a means to buy votes.", Jan Suraaj leader added.

Jan Suraaj garnered good public support during the campaign but was unable to win a single seat. Jan Suraaj party had contested 238 of Bihar's 243 Assembly seats.

The NDA's 'tsunami' swept away the opposition Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with 89 seats, and the Janata Dal (United) finishing a close second with 85. The other allies of the ruling coalition also registered high strike rates.

- ANI