Jan Suraaj Party will either win fewer than 10 seats or more than 150 seats in the upcoming Bihar election, its leader and poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor said at NDTV’s Bihar Power Play Conclave today. Kishor spoke to NDTV’s Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal, Managing Editor Padmaja Joshi, and senior Bihar bureau chief Prabhakar Kumar.
Asked to put a number to how many seats Jan Suraaj can win in its debut election, he said leaders are expected to come and say that they are winning. “I can see two probabilities. People have seen Jan Suraaj as an alternative, but voting requires a leap of faith. People need a leap of faith because of the prolonged phase of hopelessness,” Kishor said, adding that Jan Suraaj will win either fewer than 10 or more than 150 seats.
Asked why he is not contesting the election, he said. “I never declared that I would contest the election from even one seat. I said if I were to contest, I would do it from Kargahar. I’m not the X factor.”
“When the results are counted on November 14, will the success be measured by Jan Suraaj winning seats or whether I contested or not? The perception is that there is no alternative to the Mahagathbandhan or the NDA in Bihar. Perception is one thing, fact is another. Numbers show 1/3rd of people in Bihar neither want to vote for the alliance nor the NDA. I believe that Jan Suraaj will be a part of a triangular fight in at least 160-170 seats,” he added.
