"Prashant Kishor will require time to resonate widely:" Rajya Sabha Dy Chairman

Patna (Bihar) [India], October 17 (ANI): Prashant Kishor’s Jan Swaraj Party received praise, albeit from an unexpected corner, as Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Harivansh Narayan Singh, speaking exclusively to ANI, shared his take on the historical and contemporary political landscape of Bihar, drawing parallels between past and present political movements. 

Regarding the political influence of Jayaprakash Narayan and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, Singh noted that the Socialist Party's focus on fundamental public issues gained significant traction by 1967, despite initial confidence in the 1952 elections.

He suggested that the issues raised by Prashant Kishor and his group, similar to those of the Socialist Party, will take time to gain widespread resonance. However, Singh acknowledged that Prashant Kishor's group could secure some seats in the upcoming election. Singh said that Jan Swaraj Party was picking up issues which were not picked by the mainstream parties.

“In many places, Jayaprakash Narayan's assemblies drew larger crowds than ours. In Bihar, we were confident of victory in the 1952 elections. However, the fundamental public issues raised by the Socialist Party, led by Jayaprakash Narayan and Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, had a significant impact by 1967. Similarly, the questions raised by Prashant Kishor and his group will require time to resonate widely. Prashant Kishor may secure some seats—I’m not saying they won’t. In earlier times, Left parties like CPI and CPI(M) were strong, and even now, they remain influential. The issues Prashant Kishor has raised are also being voiced by other parties, but not on a large scale,” he said. 

Jay Prakash Narayan led the Janata Party, which formed the first non-Congress government in 1977 at the Centre by uniting the entire Opposition against the Emergency. A socialist and political leader, he is remembered for leading the mid-1970s Opposition parties against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, for whose overthrow he had called for a "total revolution" (Sampoorna Kranti). Ram Manohar Lohia was a member of the Praja Socialist Party and the Samyukta Socialist Party. In 1962, he contested against Jawaharlal Nehru from Phulpur, but he lost.

Given the prevalent discourse around ‘vote chori’ and SIR, the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha criticised certain groups for attempting to undermine the country's institutions. 

Singh questioned the motives behind raising doubts about the system, pointing out that critics accept the electoral process when they secure victories, such as in Karnataka and other regions.

"There are some people in the country who want to weaken the institutions. When you go abroad, you realise that. Today, an important watchdog, the judiciary, is there, and elections are separate; moreover, everything is happening in a transparent manner. Even after that, they are raising these questions. Where they win in Karnataka, where they get the majority in other places; then when they get an undisputed victory in some place during the Lok Sabha elections, then that ballot is fine and then the system is fine,’ he said. 

The polling for Bihar Assembly elections will take place on November 6 and 11. The results will be announced on November 14.

In the seat-sharing arrangement within the NDA, the BJP and JD(U) will be contesting 101 seats each, while the Lok Janshakti Party (headed by Ram Vilas) will contest 29 seats. The Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) will contest six seats each.

The main contest will be between the NDA, led by the BJP and Janata Dal (United), and the INDIA alliance, spearheaded by Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The INDIA alliance is aiming to unseat Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who currently leads the NDA in the state. (ANI)