Will Prashant Kishor play the kingmaker?

Is the political climate ripe for strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party (JSP)?

- Saubhadra Chatterj

Kishor, who has positioned the JSP as a disruptor in the state's crowded electoral field, promises to improve education and employment in the state and overturn the liquor ban.

Ona scorching Thursday afternoon, while half of Sonho —a hamletin Bihar's Saran district lies asleep, four SUVs zip through its dusty roads. Rahul Kumar Singh, the JSP’s candidate for the Amnour seat, arrives with his supporters and soon takes over the narrow lanes to campaign for the upcoming polls.

“We are telling the people that Lalu Prasad had been in power for 15years, Nitish Kumar is enjoying power for 20 years, but the migration from Bihar did not stop. The level of education in Bihar has not enhanced. Bihar has highest illiteracy, but the people are most laborious. There are no factories here. The young people have to leave their family to get low-wage jobs in Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Haryana,” Singh said, claiming that the JSP would work extensively towards improving educa-

tion and jobs.

Hardly a hundred metres away, Sanjay Shukla — who identified himself as a relative of Singh — remained unimpressed with the JSP.“Women recently got ₹10,000 for jeevika (livelihood). The roads are excellent as you can see. There is safety and security,” he said.

This story is from the October 20, 2025 edition of Hindustan Times Pune.

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