'A mistake': Prashant Kishor regrets not contesting Bihar polls
What's the story
Prashant Kishor, the founder of the Jan Suraaj party, has admitted that he might have made a mistake by not contesting the recent Bihar assembly elections. The party had failed to win any seats in its debut election. When asked by NDTV's Rahul Kanwak if he regretted his decision not to contest, Kishor said, "You can consider that a mistake." He added that he never expected his party would get only 3.5% of the vote share.
Kishor
'I never did my own survey'
"If I knew that I would lose, why would I put my resources, money and credibility at stake? I would have easily used all these resources to become an MP or MLA. If I knew that the Jan Suraaj would lose, why would I take such a big risk?" "I never knew that the party would get 4% of the vote. I never did my own survey, I played it blind," he added.
Election analysis
Kishor takes responsibility for Jan Suraaj's defeat
The Jan Suraaj party contested 238 out of 243 assembly seats and expected a vote share of 12-15%. However, they ended up with a mere 3.5%. The party's best performer was Naveen Kumar Singh alias Abhay Singh who came second in Marhaura constituency. Kishor took full responsibility for the defeat and apologized to the people of Bihar.
Future plans
Kishor's vow to work harder after election defeat
Kishor said he would work twice as hard to improve Bihar. "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 fulfill my resolve to make Bihar better," Kishor said. He also took a "vow of silence" for a day as atonement for "failing to change the government."
Election results
NDA's victory in Bihar assembly elections
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a landslide victory in the Bihar assembly elections, winning 202 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats, Janata Dal (United) 85 seats, Rashtriya Lok Morcha four seats, and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) five seats. The Rashtriya Janata Dal-led Mahagathbandhan managed only 35 seats, with RJD winning just 25.