Jan Suraaj's Shocking Bihar Defeat: Why Vote Chori No Longer Matters

While speaking exclusively to ANI, Verma said, "We have not been against the SIR. It is the Election Commission's responsibility to ensure the voter list is updated. All we said was that there are 8 crore voters in Bihar, and if this exercise is started in June, it would leave very little time and could create chaos. It could have started in February. But later, when the Supreme Court declared the Aadhar Card as a valid document, Vote Chori was no longer an issue..."

Verma also reacted to the party's poor performance in the recent Bihar Assembly elections, saying that the results have come as a shock to the party leadership.

"All of us are shocked. During the padyatra, people in huge numbers used to join... We are shocked that it did not reflect in the results. Our topics were relevant... Our issues later became the election issues," he said.

Verma pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to voters to cast their ballots for the sake of their children was similar to Jan Suraaj's campaign slogan.

"But if you notice that the topics raised by Jan Suraaj became the issue with election approaching. PM Modi asked people to vote for their children. This was the motto of Jan Suraaj," he said.

The former diplomat and renowned author emphasised that the party's fight for its ideology will continue, and the strategy for the future will be decided by party founder Prashant Kishor.

"He (Prashant Kishor) has publicly spoken about his commitment towards Bihar. It is not easy for new parties to compete with the established parties. The results have just come out. The party will think about it. The strategy for the fight will be told by Prashant Kishor ji himself. There's no lack of effort, our thinking is right, and our intentions are clear. The results are not as expected.", Verma said.

The newly formed Jan Suraaj Party, founded by election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, faced a major setback in the 2025 Bihar Assembly Election, failing to secure a single seat despite contesting in almost all 243 constituencies.

The NDA's 'tsunami' swept away the opposition RJD-led 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 as Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJPRV) won 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS) won five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha won four seats.

The ruling NDA got 202 seats, a three-fourths majority in the 243-member House. This is the second time the NDA has crossed the 200-mark in the assembly polls. In the 2010 polls, it had won 206 seats.

Mahagathbandhan got just 35 seats with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) winning 25 seats, Congress 6, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) - CPI(ML)(L) - two, Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) - one and Communist Party of India (Marxist) - CPI(M) one seat.

While All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won five seats, and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got one seat.

- ANI