The founder of the Jan Suraaj party, Prashant Kishor, has asserted that Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is “physically fatigued and mentally disengaged.” Kishor called on the electorate to ensure that the Janata Dal (United) secures no seats in the upcoming assembly elections scheduled for later this year.
“He has managed to retain power by shifting alliances, which allows him to continue as Chief Minister even with a diminished number of seats for the JD(U),” Kishor stated while addressing reporters on Thursday.
The JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar severed ties with the BJP in 2013, only to rejoin them four years later after a period of governance alongside the RJD from 2015 to 2017. In 2022 he switched back to the alliance led by RJD, but returned to NDA once again last year.
‘End this pattern’
“To end this cycle and ensure that the arrow (JDU’s election symbol) does not align with the (BJP) nor shine brightly with the lantern (RJD), I urge the public to vote in a way that no seats are won by the JD(U). Only then can we rid ourselves of a chief minister who is physically fatigued and mentally disengaged,” declared Kishor.
Assembly elections in Bihar are planned for later next year. The party will also participate in the assembly elections.
Kishor, a former national vice president of JD(U), criticized the BJP for “sustaining its power by acting through Nitish Kumar as a figurehead,” and charged that “the extraction of public funds and attempts to placate certain discontented castes” were the motives behind the cabinet reshuffle that occurred on Wednesday, given that only six months remain before the elections.
The former JD(U) national vice president reiterated his condemnation of the BJP for “utilizing Nitish Kumar as a facade to maintain power,” and accused them of “misappropriating public resources and trying to win over fractured caste groups” with the cabinet reshuffle, which comes just months before the polls.
Kishor was queried about the recent remarks made by the chief minister’s son, Nishant, who has claimed his father is “100 percent” fit and deserving of another term, igniting speculation that the JD(U) chief’s more reserved son might be entering politics himself.
“I prefer not to comment much on him since he is outside the public domain. However, I challenge his father to name the ministers in the state cabinet without consulting any notes. Should Nitish Kumar successfully demonstrate his cognitive clarity in this manner, I would exit politics and dedicate myself to supporting him,” he challenged.
Nitish Kumar is physically fatigued and mentally disengaged.
