'Bihar Facing Loss Of Rs 20,000 Cr Due To Liquor Ban': Prashant Kishor At Jan Suraaj Party's Launch

Patna: Prashant Kishor, the election strategist-turned-politician, on Wednesday launched his political party, the Jan Suraaj Party in Bihar ’s capital city Patna and named Manoj Bharti, a former bureaucrat, who served as an Indian Ambassador in various countries, as the working president. During the launch of his party, Prashant Kishor raised the issue of the liquor ban in Bihar saying that the state is facing a loss of Rs 20,000 crore due to the liquor ban and that his party would lift the ban if voted to power.

On Wednesday, at the Jan Suraaj Foundation Convention in Patna, Kishor formally appointed Manoj Bharti as the new working president. Manoj Bharti is a resident of Madhubani who studied at IIT Kanpur, and IIT Delhi. During his tenure as a bureaucrat, he served as India's ambassador in Ukraine, Belarus, Timor-Leste, and Indonesia.

Bihar Needs Rs 5 lakh Crore In Next 10 Years

Earlier, the party was launched at Veterinary College Ground in the state capital in the presence of many renowned figures, including former Union minister Devendra Prasad Yadav, former diplomat-turned-politician Pavan Varma and former MP Monazir Hassan.

With a much-anticipated move to launch a political party, Prashant Kishor hopes to take the political landscape in Bihar by storm and vows to end the ban on liquor in Bihar. During the event, Kishor said, "If Bihar has to have a world-class education system, Rs 5 lakh crore is needed in the next 10 years. When the liquor ban is removed, that money won't go into the budget and will not be used for the security of leaders, nor will it be used for roads, water and electricity. That will be used only for building a new education system in Bihar. Every year, Bihar is facing a loss of Rs 20,000 crore due to the liquor ban."

At the launch event, Prashant Kishor said that the party has been active for the past two years and recently received approval from the Election Commission of India. "Jan Suraaj campaign has been going on for 2-3 years. People are asking when we will be forming the party. We all must thank God, today the Election Commission has officially accepted Jan Suraaj as Jan Suraaj Party," he said.

With the Election Commission's nod, the Jan Suraj Party is now expected to contest in all constituencies in the Bihar assembly elections next year. Earlier, on September 30, Prashant Kishor said that he does not want to become the leader of the party, adding that next year, in January or February, the party will release its agenda for Bihar.

Earlier, Prashant Kishor announced that the party would contest elections on all 243 seats out of which there will be 40 women candidates from the party to be formed.

The assembly elections in Bihar are likely to be held in October-November 2025