Police personnel detain Jan Suraaj party chief Prashant Kishor who was sitting on an indefinite hunger strike demanding the cancellation of the BPSC 70th Integrated Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) exam over the alleged paper leak, at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Monday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Political strategist-cum-founder of Jan Suraaj Party Prashant Kishor who was sitting on fast-unto-death beneath Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan in support of the protesting Bihar Public Services Commission—combined (preliminary) competitive examination (CCE) aspirants seeking re-examination of their preliminary test which was conducted on December 13, was arrested in the wee hours of Monday (January 6, 2024). He was later produced in a local court, granted conditional which he refused to sign and chose to go to jail for two weeks.
Later in the evening, he got an unconditional bail from the court and said he would continue with his fast-unto-death protest for which the venue will be announced on Tuesday (January 7, 2024).Earlier in the day he had said he would continue with his fast from the jail, “unka man badh jayega (their morale will get a boost)”.
Mr. Kishor apparently was referring to the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led NDA government. But, master political strategist Mr. Kishor seemingly, has had politics in mind in the poll-bound State. Bihar Assembly elections are due in October-November this year.
Ever since Mr. Kishor officially founded Jan Suraaj Party on October 2, 2024 in Patna’s veterinary ground amid much fanfare and tall promises, he was looking for an opportunity to prove his claim to fame. A month after, his newly founded party contested all four seats Belaganj, Imamganj, Tarari and Ramgarh in by-poll. While launching his party, Mr. Kishor had announced that his party would let other mainstream political parties candidates bite the dust in the by-poll. But, the result came upsetting for Mr. Kishor as his party candidates lost on all four seats. Putting up a brave face, Mr. Kishor said his party has done well by getting an encouraging number of votes in the by-poll.
After the by-poll results came in, Mr. Kishor was looking for another opportunity to play politics, ahead of the Assembly elections in the State which are months away. And, the moment a section of the BPSC aspirants conducted sit-ins at Patna’s Gardanibagh area seeking re-examination of the preliminary test, allegedly on the charge of “paper leak”, Mr. Kishor reached the venue and extended his support to the protesting aspirants.
For 3.28 lakh aspirants the BPSC (CCE), the exam was held at total 912 centers across the State but, only at the Bapu Pariksha Center (Bapu exam center) the aspirants alleged the question paper was “leaked” and sat on protest demanding a re-examination. However, the aspirants who appeared in the test at other centers in the State said there were no malpractices and the test was held in a peaceful and proper way.
The Opposition leader in State Assembly Tejashwi Yadav, Independent MP from Purnea Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav and other Opposition parties, though, came out in support of the protesting BPSC (CCE) aspirants but, not the way Mr. Kishor came up with them. On January 2, 2025, he quietly came in a taxi and sat on a fast-unto-death beneath the Gandhi statue at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan. Gradually the number of protesting aspirants swelled at the spot.
Veteran Socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly known as JP, had led the JP movement of students against the misrule and corruption in the State government in 1974 from the Gandhi Maidan.
“Mr. Kishor would have thought to lead another students’ movement from the same place to make his mark in the State’s politics, or, as a former political strategist he, would have thought to set off another Anna (Hazare) type protest in Patna with the support of students but, he has failed in his strategy this time as it was on a fake ground”, observed a BPSC aspirant who, on condition of anonymity, expressed no “issue at all” in appearing for his preliminary test at a center.
Next day, a luxury vanity van parked near Mr. Kishor’s protest site caught attention of media persons. “I’m on a fast here. If I go home to relieve myself journalists will ask questions whether I went to have food or take a nap”, Mr. Kishor said. The buzz in the town was the vanity van is worth of ₹2 crore and is owned by a former MP who had loaned it to Mr. Kishor.
Meanwhile, the BPSC conducted re-examination for Bapu Exam Centre examinees on January 4, 2025 while Mr. Kishor was sitting on his fast. The exam passed peacefully and it was said that more aspirants appeared in the re-exam at the center than they had appeared on December 13, 2024. Mr Kishor continued with his protest and the district administration had slapped two FIRs against him and others for sitting on protest in a “restricted area and also for making a hindrance in government’s work”.
In the wee hours on Monday, the district administration picked up Mr. Kishor forcefully. In a video which has gone viral on social media, he was seen being slapped by a cop. Later, he was produced in a local court where bail was granted to him on a personal bond of ₹25,000 and with a condition that he would not repeat the same.
Mr Kishor refused to sign the conditional bail bond and chose to go to jail saying he would “continue with his fast even in jail. But, later, his lawyer Kumar Amit re-argued the bail petition and the court issued an unconditional bail to Mr. Kishor. He came out and later at night, addressed the media persons declaring he would continue his fast, but the venue and time would be announced on January 7.
But, unfazed and unperturbed with development in Patna, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar continued with his ongoing Pragati (growth) Yatra in the Vaishali district and announced several welfare schemes.
Politics seems to be a strong adhesive bond for the former political strategist Mr. Kishor who, apparently, is not willing to let any moment slip out to be in limelight in the poll-bound Bihar.
Published – January 07, 2025 02:53 am IST
