Daijiworld Media Network - Patna

Patna, Nov 17: Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor’s electoral debut ended in a crushing defeat as his Jan Suraaj Party, which contested 238 out of 243 seats, failed to win a single constituency in the Bihar Assembly election.

The party began counting day with leads in four seats but was eventually wiped out. It finished second in one seat, fourth or below in 122, and even polled fewer votes than NOTA in 61 constituencies. As highlighted by BJP leader Amit Malviya, 236 of the party’s 238 candidates lost their Rs 10,000 security deposits.

Jan Suraaj secured just 3.34% of the 16.77 lakh votes—far below exit polls that projected up to 10% vote share. The party later accused the Nitish Kumar-led government of diverting Rs 14,000 crore in World Bank funds and spending Rs 40,000 crore on schemes and freebies to influence voters.

The BJP-JDU-led NDA swept the election with 202 out of 243 seats. RJD and Congress suffered major setbacks, securing only 35 seats combined. Nitish Kumar, whose JDU won 85 seats, will take oath again as Chief Minister on November 20.