Patna, Sep 1 (IANS): Jan Suraaj Chief Prashant Kishor on Sunday announced that his party would allocate at least 40 seats to Muslim candidates in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

“The representation of Muslims in Bihar Assembly is currently limited to 19 MLAs despite the community constituting 18 to 19 per cent of the state’s population. We are committed to allocate 40 seats to Muslims,” said Kishor while addressing at Bapu Sabhagar Patna.

He said that JDU, RJD, and Congress have been taking the votes of the Muslims without providing adequate participation, rights, or development to the community, adding, that the Jan Suraaj aims to ensure representation for every community proportional to its population in Bihar.

“Muslim participation in Jan Suraaj would not be limited to ticket distribution or government formation but would extend to the party's organisational structure as well,” Kishore said.

He added that if 25 people are leading the Jan Suraaj, four to five of them would be from the Muslim community.

“I am not asking for votes out of mere political convenience but is urging the community to vote for Jan Suraaj for their children’s future and rights,” he said.

He called for a revival of the ideologies of leaders like Gandhi, Ambedkar, Lohia, and JP, arguing that their principles are more relevant today than ever.

“I supported Narendra Modi in 2014, and from 2015 to 2021, I backed parties and leaders opposing the BJP. The BJP, with only 37 per cent of the vote share, managed to form the government in Delhi three times, despite the country having an 80 per cent Hindu population. This is an indication that 40 per cent of Hindus voted against the BJP, opposing the ideology of hatred politics,” Prashant Kishor said.