Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Tuesday admitted the party’s complete electoral failure in the recently concluded Bihar Assembly polls, saying the public did not trust them. Kishor further accepted “100% responsibility” for the defeat while addressing a press conference. He further said that let alone systemic change, his party couldn’t even bring about a change in power.
Speaking to the reporters, the JSP founder said, “We made an honest effort, but it was completely unsuccessful. There’s no harm in admitting it. Forget systemic change — we couldn’t even bring about a change in power. Still, we did play some role in shaping Bihar’s politics. There must have been mistakes in our efforts, our thinking, or the way we communicated, which is why people did not elect us. If the public did not show faith in us, the full responsibility is mine. I take 100% responsibility for failing to win the trust of the people of Bihar.”
Kishor vowed to work “twice as hard” as he did in the last three years, and said that there is “no question of backing down” from his mission to improve Bihar. He admitted failure in translation of his message to the voters, saying he “could not explain to the people of Bihar why they should vote for a new system.”
Kishor also announced a day-long silent fast on November 20 at Gandhi Bhitiharwa Ashram as “atonement” for the party’s shortcomings.
Rejecting accusations of playing divisive politics, the former political strategist said he did not “spread caste-based poison, did not play Hindu-Muslim politics, did not divide people in the name of religion.”
He further said that the party did not engage in bribery or vote-buying, stressing that they “did not commit the crime of giving money to poor, innocent people of Bihar to buy votes.”
#WATCH | Patna, Bihar | Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor says, “What position am I holding that I should resign? I had said that if (JDU) gets more than 25 seats, I will retire. From which position should I resign? I did not say that I will leave Bihar. I have left politics. I… pic.x.com/IxEcdyZzMZ
— ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2025
Kishor said that there is no question of resigning, stating he holds no formal position. He clarified that he only promised to retire if the JD(U) crossed 25 seats, not to leave Bihar, and added that while he has quit politics, he will continue to speak for the people of the state.
“What position am I holding that I should resign? I had said that if (JDU) gets more than 25 seats, I will retire. From which position should I resign? I did not say that I will leave Bihar. I have left politics. I do not do politics, but I did not say that I will stop speaking for the people of Bihar…”
The political strategist’s party contested 238 of the state’s 243 Assembly seats but failed to win any.
During the campaign, Kishor had predicted a sweeping victory, claiming the party would either win the most seats or come last, with no middle ground. However, his electoral plank, centred on education, unemployment and law and order, did not translate into votes.
Exit polls had already predicted a poor performance for the JSP, forecasting either one seat or none.