Jan Suraaj, VIP draw a blank in Bihar as NDA surges ahead

Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj and Mukesh Sahani’s VIP failed to secure early leads in the Bihar elections, aligning with exit poll predictions. While NDA surged ahead in over 200 seats, both parties struggled despite being projected as potential influencer

Patna: Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj and the Mahagathbandhan’s Deputy Chief Ministerial face Mukesh Sahani’s Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) were unable to secure leads in any constituency as of 3.50 pm, according to Bihar election trends.

The exit polls had projected that Jan Suraaj would win between zero and two seats, and the trends at 3.50 pm reflected this forecast. Jan Suraaj was considered the potential ‘X factor’ in this election, largely due to Prashant Kishor’s formidable track record as a poll strategist.

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Kishor has been credited with steering major electoral victories for Nitish Kumar in the 2015 Bihar polls, Jagan Mohan Reddy and the YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh in 2019, and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.

Despite this, several exit polls predicted zero seats for Jan Suraaj, a projection Kishor himself acknowledged, remarking before the counting began that his party would either “perform exceedingly well or crash”.
On the other hand, Mukesh Sahani’s VIP is trailing in all 15 seats it contested. Sahani, who chose not to contest personally, had been positioned as the Mahagathbandhan’s Deputy Chief Ministerial face.

The Election Commission’s website shows that Sahani’s brother, Santosh Sahni, is in eighth position out of 12 candidates in Gaura Gram, where BJP’s Sujit Kumar is leading by a margin of over 10,000 votes.

Sahani, a former Bollywood set designer who entered politics, was considered significant in consolidating Mallah, Sahani, and Nishad votes across the Mithilanchal and Seemanchal regions, making him an important figure in the Mahagathbandhan’s strategy.

As per the latest 3.50 p.m. trends, the NDA is ahead in 209 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan trails with 29. Bihar witnessed 66.91 per cent voter turnout overall in two-phase elections, the highest since the first elections in 1951.