'No alliance with any political party', says Prashant Kishor after Bankipur bypoll win

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Monday ruled out the possibility of joining any political alliance, while claiming that his victory in the Bankipur assembly bypoll was made possible “with the backing of” disgruntled supporters of parties such as the BJP, Congress and the RJD. Kishor was talking to reporters after defeating the BJP’s Neeraj Kumar by over 19,000 votes in Bankipur which the BJP had been winning since 1995.

'We shall have no alliance'

“We shall have no alliance. Our alliance shall be with the people of Bihar. You should see that the people of Bankipur have voted for us, giving up on established parties,” said Kishor when he was asked about the possibility of a rethink on his earlier stance of going it alone in elections. With his victory, the Jan Suraaj Party will have its maiden presence in the Bihar assembly. “Besides thanking the common citizens, I would like to thank those who helped Jan Suraaj despite not being in the party. Such people were in all parties – BJP, RJD, as well as the Congress,” said Kishor, whose win may help resurrect his fledgling outfit that had drawn a blank in last year’s assembly election.

Notably, the by-poll, which Kishor has been terming as a “referendum” on the BJP-led government in Bihar, had followed the resignation of fifth-term MLA Nitin Nabin, who got elected to the Rajya Sabha after becoming the party’s national president.