Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party may venture out of Bihar and take its politics beyond the state. Some supporters of the party based in the national capital are lobbying for the party to create a unit in Delhi.
The matter is expected to come up in talks with Kishor at an event on Sunday, wherein he will receive felicitations for winning the Bankipur by-poll.
Jan Suraaj seeks Delhi entry
“People connected with Jan Suraaj in Delhi want the party to have a presence here, but tomorrow’s event is all about felicitating Kishor for his victory in Bankipur,” said Kumar Shantanu, member of the Jan Suraaj core committee and a professor at Delhi University, as quoted by PTI.
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According to him, it will be decided later whether the party should contest elections in Delhi or not, depending on the chances of the party in the city. Creation of a Delhi unit would be the first major expansion of the Jan Suraaj party outside Bihar.
What is the Bankipur link?
The talk of an expansion move to Delhi follows Kishor’s election victory in Bihar. In the Bankipur bypoll conducted in August, Kishor got elected for the first time as a candidate and helped his Jan Suraaj get its first seat in the Bihar Assembly.
Kishor beat BJP’s Neeraj Kumar by 19,324 votes in the Patna constituency. He got 64,151 votes compared to Kumar’s 44,827 votes, the report said.
This happened after Jan Suraaj’s first serious electoral test in the upcoming 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. The party fought for 238 seats but failed to win any, although Kishor did not contest that particular election.
Jan Suraaj’s possible Delhi cell
Thus far, all the political campaigns carried out by Jan Suraaj have taken place in Bihar, where the movement was built up by Kishor on the basis of problems like education, employment, and governance.
However, a new Delhi cell would mean a new political scenario for the party, since there has been no announcement that it would contest the elections in Delhi.
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The event planned for Sunday has been organised by Biharis settled in Delhi under Jan Suraaj. According to Shantanu, there will not be any representatives of other political parties at this closed-door meeting, but those who want to join Jan Suraaj are welcome.
It is up to Kishor and Jan Suraaj’s leadership to make the final decision about opening a Delhi cell.
For the time being, the issue of expanding into Delhi remains in the hands of Prashant Kishor and the party leadership.
The supporters in the city are demanding a proper organizational structure from the party, while taking any decision for contesting elections in Delhi will come after an assessment of its potential in the region.