PK floats Jan Suraaj Party, attacks Modi

PTI, PATNA, OCT 2, 2024: Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Wednesday announced the launch of his political outfit, Jan Suraaj Party, a much-anticipated move by which he hopes to take the political landscape in Bihar by storm. Kishor also named Manoj Bharti, a Madhubani-born former Indian Foreign Service officer, as working president of the party, saying the latter will hold the post till March when organizational polls will be held. The party was launched at Veterinary College Ground in the state capital in the presence of many renowned figures, including former Union Minister Devendra Prasad Yadav, diplomat-turned-politician Pavan Varma, and ex-MP Monazir Hassan.

The party was floated exactly two years after Kishor had embarked on a more than 3,000-km-long 'padayatra' of the state, from Champaran where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the first Satyagraha in the country, in a bid to mobilize the people for a "new political alternative" that could cure Bihar of its chronic backwardness.

The political strategist-turned-activist on Wednesday alleged that after being voted to power by people impressed with his track record in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "diverted the wealth of the entire country to his home state." The I-PAC founder, whose first claim to fame was his handling of Modi's spectacular Lok Sabha campaign of 2014, made the scathing attack on the PM at a public meeting to mark the launch of his own political outfit. "People like you and me voted for Modi, listening to his speeches, taken in by the impression that he has done a lot for the development of Gujarat. Indeed, Gujaratis are progressing."