Bihar Elections 2025: Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor faces scrutiny over dual voter registration in Bihar and Bengal

Prashant Kishor, the political strategist-turned-politician whose Jan Suraaj Party is actively campaigning in the Bihar Assembly elections, is embroiled in a controversy over being listed as a voter in two states — Bihar and West Bengal.

Reports indicate that Kishor is registered in the Kargahar Assembly constituency of Bihar’s Rohtas district, which falls under the Sasaram parliamentary seat. His voting station is listed as Madhya Vidyalay in his ancestral village, Konar.

Meanwhile, in West Bengal, Kishor's name is on the voter list at 121 Kalighat Road in Bhabanipur, the same location as the Trinamool Congress office and the constituency of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. His polling station in Bengal is reportedly St Helen School on B. Ranishankari Lane. Kishor had been a political consultant for the Trinamool Congress during the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.

Attempts to contact Kishor for clarification on the dual voter issue were unsuccessful. However, a senior member of his Jan Suraaj Party, speaking anonymously, stated that Kishor had enrolled as a voter in Bihar’s Kargahar after the Bengal elections. The party official also mentioned that Kishor reportedly applied to have his name removed from the West Bengal voter list, though the current status of that request remains unclear. Although Kishor initially considered contesting from the Kargahar seat in Bihar, he later expressed interest in running from Raghopur, where he would have faced off against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav.

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However, he eventually withdrew from the race, explaining that the decision was made collectively by his party to avoid fielding candidates in certain constituencies for strategic reasons. Kishor emphasized that his focus would now be on strengthening the party’s base and ensuring the success of his candidates. This controversy over dual voter registration is not unique. Previously, Bihar’s former deputy CM, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, and current deputy CM, Vijay Kumar Sinha, were also found to be listed as voters in Patna and their respective constituencies. Yadav is contesting from Raghopur, while Sinha is seeking re-election from Lakhisarai.

In the 2020 elections, Chainpur went to the BSP, Araria was clinched by Congress, and both Amaur and Jokihat were claimed by the AIMIM. The JDU's selection of Muslim candidates appears to be a deliberate effort to maintain its hold in these strategically crucial areas. Alongside the Muslim nominees, JDU has focused on a well-calibrated caste strategy in its list of 101 candidates, which includes 37 from the Backward Classes, 22 from the Extremely Backward Classes, and 15 from Scheduled Castes. Additionally, the party has given tickets to 13 women and five current ministers. As part of a seat-sharing agreement with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), JDU is contesting 101 seats, while BJP is contesting an equal number. Smaller allies like Upendra Kushwaha’s Rastriya Lok Morcha and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM will also be in the race with a combined 12 seats, while Chirag Paswan’s LJP is set to contest 29 seats.