In a significant development today, prominent political strategist-turned-leader Prashant Kishor made serious allegations against the BJP. He claimed that three candidates from his Jan Suraaj Party, who were slated to contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, were forced to withdraw their nominations due to intense pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
During a press conference, Mr. Kishor asserted that the ruling NDA alliance is seemingly so apprehensive about losing the elections that they resorted to intimidating opposition candidates, compelling them to step down from the electoral contest.
He further declared, “Democracy is under attack. We have never witnessed such tactics in the nation’s political history.” He urgently called upon the Election Commission to intervene and guarantee the safety and security of all candidates.
The constituencies affected by these withdrawals include Danapur, Brahampur, and Gopalganj, according to Kishor.
Kishor drew a parallel to the ‘Surat model,’ where a BJP candidate won uncontested after other nominees were allegedly forced out. He argued that the BJP has failed to learn from recent history, pointing out their reduced Lok Sabha tally of 240 seats last year, despite their earlier boast of achieving over 400 seats nationwide.
His Jan Suraaj Party had initially declared candidates for all 243 Assembly seats in Bihar. However, with these three forced withdrawals, the party will now contest 240 seats, as the deadline for filing nominations has already passed.