What We Came To Know About Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party From The Launch Event In Patna

After his padyatra of two years, Prashant Kishor formally launched his Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) on 2 October, 2024. 

The launch event gave some insights into the plans that Kishor has for his party.

One year president terms

Manoj Bharti, former Indian ambassador to Belarus, will serve as the working President of JSP till March 2024.

"He (Bharti) was not chosen as the party’s working president because he is a Dalit but because he is a talented and deserving person who happens to be a Dalit," said Kishor.

Kishor claims his idea of identity politics differs from the established notions, as JSP not only considers caste and religion backgrounds but also whether the person is competent or not.

Structures and procedures

Along with this, there are other claims that Kishor has made about JSP and its working.

1. Like the American system, the people will be choosing the candidates for the assembly constituencies six months prior to the election. If the candidate does not perform, electors will have the option of recalling him/her by the end of two-and-a-half-year mark.

2. The President will be given only a one-year term. The Presidential position will be taken up by candidates from different religious and caste identities in each term. The next president will be from either the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) or the Muslim community. He/She will be followed by a candidate from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), who will, in turn, make way for a person from the General category.

3. Attempts are underway to replicate this approach in the Policy Committee (Kishor himself is expected to head it) and in ticket distribution as well.

4. The party’s emblem will feature photos of both Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar.

5. JSP's five main priorities are education, employment, pensions for elders, women empowerment, and land reforms.

Road ahead not easy

One big challenge for JSP is preventing being branded as a party of discontented leaders of other outfits.

Monazir Hassan—arguably the most influential Muslim face of JSP—was with Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), ditched it in 2004 to join Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), and served it till May 2023.

JSP’s leaders include former members of BJP, LJP(RV), JD(U), RJD, and Congress.

On the ground, there is a perception building that JSP is becoming a rehabilitation ground or backup option for politicians who are miffed with their own parties. Of course, on the surface, these disagreements are portrayed as principled and ideological.

But for voters, the question remains: what will keep these leaders loyal to the JSP?

Like politicians, dozens of bureaucrats have also joined JSP in a bid to either get tickets or key positions in the party. In all likelihood, Kishor will keep them confined to advisory roles or policy-making committees.

The problem is that these bureaucrats—not only in JSP but even serving ones—do not have a substantive track record of administrative efficiency, especially those who spent their bureaucratic careers in Bihar.

In local circles, senior officers are believed to have run bribery syndicates (where a portion of the bribe is distributed from the bottom to the top levels) during their service days. This is the primary reason why, even with a strict vigilance department, bribery is skyrocketing in Bihar.

While the expertise and administrative experience these bureaucrats bring could be invaluable, their motivations are a matter of concern. Many of these officials may have joined the platform in a bid to clean up their image or engage in post-retirement politics.

Kishor's own promises

If JSP overcomes these challenges, it will then have the challenge of fulfilling the promises made by Kishor.

One of them is enhancing education. Kishor himself says that to overhaul Bihar’s education system, he will require five lakh crore rupees, over and above the budgetary allocation of Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 54,605 crore in the FY25 budget).

One solution Kishor has suggested is diverting alcohol tax towards education. The problem is that it is expected to generate only Rs 20,000 crore (according to Kishor’s own admission).

His calculations on the requirements for pension funds also seem a bit off if Census 2011 figures about the share of 60+ age group in Bihar’s population is taken into account.

Moreover, there is the problem of bureaucratic inertia in the state. Bihar’s bureaucratic class is generally resistant to change.

Even big leaders like Chirag Paswan and Pappu Yadav have openly expressed their concerns regarding bureaucratic hurdles and the bribery culture. 

If Kishor wants his plans to succeed, he needs to pass on the message that babus are only enablers of the process, not the final chain in command.

Kishor is hoping that the senior and retired bureaucrats who have joined JSP will help him overcome this hurdle. He hopes the same from retired politicians regarding political inertia.