&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'We have made mistakes, but...': Prashant Kishor breaks silence on Bihar poll loss, announces ‘maun upvas’")
Days after facing a massive poll debacle, Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor has broken his silence and addressed the issues surrounding his party's loss and his future course of action. Addressing the media in Patna, Prashant Kishor took the blame for the poll loss and said that he will observe 'maun upvas' (vow of silence) for "failing to change the government" in Bihar. He said that his party will analyse the reasons that led to the loss and promised to rectify the mistakes he and his party made in this year's election. Kishor's Jan Suraaj drew blank in Bihar Elections, despite contesting 238 of Bihar's 243 Assembly seats. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) registered a thumping victory with a total of 202 seats (BJP 89 and JDU 85, Chirag Paswan's LJP (Ram Vilas)19). The combined tally of Mahagathbandhan was 36, with RJD winning 25 out of 143 contested.
“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. There must have been some mistake in our efforts, in our thinking, in the way we explained that the public had not elected us. 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,” he said.
“We may have made mistakes, but we have not committed any crime. 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…People have given mandate to NDA; now it's on shoulders of Modi, Nitish to work on fulfilling their poll promises,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying.
Clarifying on his claims of quitting politics if Nitish Kumar's JD(U) wins more than 25 seats, Kishor added that Jan Suraaj will “rectify mistakes, build ourselves, come back stronger; no going back for us.” "We will stand again with the same power. For those who think I will leave Bihar, it is absolutely wrong. You are not defeated till you quit. People are talking a lot about my remark on JDU winning 25 seats - I still stand by it. If Nitish Kumar transfers the Rs 2 lakh he promised to 1.5 crore women and proves he didn't win by buying votes, I will retire from politics without any ifs and buts," he said.
