Two Years After 'Padayatra', Prashant Kishor Launches Jan Suraaj Party In Bihar

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Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Wednesday announced the launch of his political outfit Jan Suraaj Party, a much-anticipated move by which he hopes to take the political landscape in Bihar by storm. Kishor also named Manoj Bharti, a Madhubani-born former Indian Foreign Service Officer, as working president of the party, saying the latter will hold the post till March when organisational polls will be held.

The party was launched at Veterinary College Ground in the state capital in presence of many renowned figures, including former Union minister Devendra Prasad Yadav, diplomat-turned-politician Pavan Varma and ex-MP Monazir Hassan.

The party was floated exactly two years after Kishor had embarked on a more than 3,000-km-long 'padayatra' of the state, from Champaran where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the first Satyagraha in the country, in a bid to mobilise the people for a "new political alternative" that could cure Bihar of its chronic backwardness.

Speaking on the occasion, the I-PAC founder who gave up political consultancy a few years ago, said, "Jan Suraaj has been a campaign aimed at making the people of Bihar understand that they have not been able to get quality education and job opportunities because they have never voted on these issues. We may be mocked by cynics who will say how will we fulfil promises like putting an end to migration. But we have a blueprint."

"We will need more than Rs 4 lakh crore to improve education in the state. We will raise the money by scrapping the prohibition law which is annually causing losses to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore. I reiterate that once Jan Suraaj comes to power, the ban on liquor will be scrapped within one hour," said the 47-year-old leader, who is known to be a strident critic of the move by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his former mentor.

"We do not need empty slogans of special status. But we will compel banks to make available to the state capital in proportion to savings deposited by its people. At present, it seems money saved by Biharis is being put to use elsewhere," Kishor added.