Prashant Kishor to field 40 Muslim candidates in Bihar, dares RJD to follow suit

Jan Suraj founder Prashant Kishor pointed out that there were only 19 Muslim MLAs even though the community comprised about 20 per cent of the state's total population. (PTI Photo)

Political strategist-turned activist Prashant Kishor on Sunday said his Jan Suraaj intends to field at least 40 Muslim candidates in the Bihar Assembly elections next year and dared the Rashtriya Janata Dal to walk the talk on social justice instead of pretending to be their messiah.

Rejecting the charge that he was trying to "split" votes of the minority community and hit the RJD, the BJP's principal opponent in the state, the IPAC founder said that Jan Suraaj will not field Muslims in seats where the RJD’s candidate belongs to the community.

"We intend to give tickets to at least 40 Muslims in elections to the 243-strong assembly. The community will also have a fair share of representation in the organisation's leadership," Kishor told reporters in Patna on Sunday.

#WATCH | Patna, Bihar: Jan Suraaj Chief Prashant Kishor says, "If rights are to be given based on the population, then Muslims should contest elections on at least 40 Vidhan Sabha seats... The people of RJD are claiming to be the well-wishers of Muslims. I challenged them that if pic.twitter.com/Ui20OlRgsx

ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2024

He was speaking after a symposium on the theme "the participation of Muslims in politics" organised by Jan Suraaj which would become a full-fledged political party on October 2.

Kishor pointed out that in the current assembly, there were "only 19 Muslim members, even though the community comprised about 20 per cent of the state's total population.

"So much for the secular credentials of RJD, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and the Congress," said the former strategist who has, in the past, rendered his services to all these parties.

He, however, bristled at the RJD's allegation that his Muslim outreach was only aimed at splitting the vote and, indirectly, help the BJP.

"If that is the RJD's fear, I challenge it to give tickets to an adequate number of Muslims. They claim to be 'rehnuma' (champions) of the community. They must walk the talk. I can promise that if they do so, Jan Suraaj will not field Muslims in seats where their candidate belongs to the community. We will field a Hindu," said Kishor.