A significant development has emerged amidst the election fervor in Bihar. Prashant Kishor, the founder of Jan Suraj Party, won't contest the Raghopur assembly seat against Tejashwi Yadav. Instead, the party has announced Chanchal Singh as its candidate from Raghopur. Uday Singh, the national president of Jan Suraj, handed over the party symbol to Chanchal Singh. For some time, it was widely speculated that Prashant Kishor himself would challenge Tejashwi Yadav in his stronghold of Raghopur.
PK's U-Turn and Previous Warning
Prashant Kishor has now decided against entering the electoral fray himself. Just three days ago, PK had conducted a roadshow in Raghopur, during which he issued a warning to Tejashwi, stating that if he were to contest from Raghopur, Tejashwi would face a defeat similar to Amethi, while earlier, PK had also told the media that the party would release its first list of candidates on October 9, which would include his name. However, Jan Suraj has already released two lists, and Prashant Kishor's name is absent from both.
Raghopur Seat's History and Tejashwi's Bid
Jan Suraj released its first list of 51 candidates and a second list of 65 candidates. With Chanchal Singh's nomination, all eyes are now on the NDA's strategy, as they're yet to declare their candidate for Raghopur. Meanwhile, Tejashwi Yadav is scheduled to file his nomination papers from Raghopur tomorrow, Wednesday. Tejashwi will be keen on achieving a hat-trick of victories from this seat. The Raghopur constituency in Vaishali district has historically been a traditional RJD stronghold, with victories secured by Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, and now Tejashwi Yadav. Tejashwi won from here in both 2015 and 2020. The BJP has so far been unable to open its account on this seat. In the 2020 assembly elections, Tejashwi Yadav defeated BJP's Satish Kumar by a significant margin of 38,174 votes. While Tejashwi won in 2015, in 2010, JDU's Satish Kumar had defeated Rabri Devi.
