Prashant Kishor accuses BJP of intimidating Jan Suraaj candidates

Jan Suraaj party founder Prashant Kishor has levelled serious allegations against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and other BJP leaders, accusing them of threatening and pressuring Jan Suraaj candidates to withdraw their nominations.

Addressing a press conference in Patna on Tuesday, Kishor claimed that the BJP forced the withdrawal of Jan Suraaj candidates from Danapur, Gopalganj, and Brahampur out of fear.

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He said that in Danapur, local businessman Akhilesh Kumar, also known as Mutur Shah, had accepted the party symbol from Manoj Bharti but did not turn up to file his nomination.

“BJP kept claiming that RJD goons had held him hostage. But the fact is, he was seen with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP’s Bihar election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan. This is the real character and face of the BJP,” he said.

“The country’s Home Minister is summoning a small businessman to meet him. What choice does he have in such a situation? Isn’t the Election Commission noticing that a candidate is being surrounded by BJP leaders, including the Home Minister? We will file a complaint with the Election Commission,” he added.

He also released a photograph of Jan Suraaj’s Brahampur candidate Dr. Satyaprakash Tiwari with Dharmendra Pradhan. He stated that in Brahampur, where powerful LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Hulas Pandey is contesting, Jan Suraaj had fielded Dr. Tiwari. After filing his nomination, Tiwari campaigned for three days but abruptly withdrew the following morning.

“This is unprecedented. After the elections are announced, central ministers are privately meeting candidates. Pressure was exerted on him to withdraw. A decent party worker, a doctor, was intimidated into pulling out,” he alleged.

In a similar case, Kishor said Jan Suraaj candidate Dr. Shashi Shekhar Sinha from Gopalganj was actively campaigning until two days ago. However, local BJP leaders reportedly approached him and applied pressure to withdraw.

“He called me and said he was under pressure but was standing by me. Two hours later, he withdrew his nomination and switched off his phone,” he said.

Kishor further claimed that other Jan Suraaj candidates, including Prof. K.C. Sinha from Kumhrar and Durg Narayan Prasad from Valmikinagar, are also being pressured to withdraw.

Questioning the role of the Election Commission, he said, “If you cannot ensure the safety of candidates, how will you protect the voters? If candidates can be threatened, how will you stop voters from being intimidated?”