Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor
Credit: PTI photo
New Delhi: After three candidates of the Jan Suraaj party withdrew in Bihar, Prashant Kishor alleged that they were pressured into withdrawing their nomination for the upcoming Bihar election.
Three candidates of Kishor’s party had withdrawn their nominations — Mutur Shah from Danapur, Satya Prakash Tiwari from Brahampur, and Shashi Shekhar Sinha from Gopalganj. Kishor alleged that the BJP forced them to do so.
“The BJP has built an image in the last few years that no matter who wins elections, the BJP forms the government. Look at the condition of the party that called Jan Suraaj a vote-cutter and said we have no identity. The polling process has begun, and the NDA is terrified,” Kishor said.
Kishor said that the BJP is not afraid of the INDIA Alliance, even though they use the Allince to scare people. “They warn the people that if they don't vote for them, Lalu Yadav’s ‘Jungle Raj’ will return. But this time, people have a new option — Jan Suraaj is the way out of the 30-year slavery, because of which people are forced to vote for the BJP and Nitish Kumar because of Lalu ji’s fear, and for Lalu ji because of the BJP’s fear,” Kishor said.
“This is the BJP's character. You tell me, an ordinary trader who has entered politics, if the Home Minister calls him, what option does he have,” he added.
In Danapur, the NDA’s candidate, a strongman, had ensured that Mutur Shah did not file his nominations even when he took the symbol. Showing a picture of Shah with union home minister Amit Shah and union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Kishor said that Mutur Shah did not have any option.
In Brahmapur, a seat that Chirag Paswan had fought for, the NDA had fielded Hulas Pandey, a key aide of Chirag. Jan Suraaj’s candidate Satya Prakash Tiwari had campaigned for three days. “Yesterday, he withdrew his nomination. And see the picture behind the scenes,” Kishor said, showing a photo of Sinha with Pradhan.
Similarly, in Gopalganj, the Jan Suraaj candidate Shashi Shekhar Sinha was campaigning for the party till 8pm of the night before. “By 11pm a BJP MLC and other leaders met him and he withdrew,” Kishor alleged, showing yet another picture of the candidate with some BJP leaders.
“Bihar needs to know if Jan Suraaj’s leaders are running away or if democracy is being murdered. Candidates are being threatened openly,” he said.