Encircled by canals and situated in the rice belt of Bihar is a two-storey, 1970s-made building, with its paint peeled off, along the main road of Konar village in Rohtas district. While the revamp of the house may not take place anytime soon, its owner – Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor – has been busy pitching for a “vyavastha parivartan” (overhaul of the system) in Bihar politics.
The house wears a bare look as most posters and banners inside it and just outside have been taken off owing to the model code of conduct amid the ongoing Bihar Assembly elections.
Perched on a wooden chair in the house’s courtyard is 72-year-old Kedar Pandey, its caretaker since 1970, with a yellow stole around his neck. He is sitting against the backdrop of a poster bearing Kishor and his Jan Suraaj’s Karaghar Assembly candidate, Bhojpuri singer Ritesh Pandey.
Kedar is joined by a fellow villager Ramesh Pandey as the duo animatedly discuss how the “Jan Suraaj will change the politics of Bihar”.
While Ramesh dismisses theories suggesting the NDA would return to power, questions over the surge in women voters and the absence of strong anger against the Nitish Kumar government lead to both of them agreeing that Kishor himself should have contested the polls. “Kishor’s candidature from any seat across the state or even Karaghar would have instilled more energy into the Jan Suraaj’s cadre. However, he has set the election’s narrative. The media is not able to assess his influence accurately. Let us wait for the results,” Kedar says and goes on to recount how Kishor visited the house during festivals and holidays in his adolescent years.
Kedar, joined by a fellow villager Ramesh Pandey. (Express Photo by Santosh Singh)
Konar village, with a middle school, two banks, and two private schools, falls under the Kargahar Assembly seat, which will go to the polls on November 11. The Jan Suraaj’s Ritesh is up against the Congress’s sitting MLA Santosh Mishra. Karaghar is also one of the state’s 10 seats that will see “friendly fights” among the Mahagathbandhan allies, as the RJD and the CPI (M-L)L too have fielded their candidates here.
Kedar, who was an active member of the CPI(M-L)L before associating with Kishor’s family in 1970, reminisces how social service was inculcated in Kishor. “His father, Dr Shrikant Pandey, visited the village at regular intervals, and every time he came, he treated 300-400 patients for free. I think Kishor learnt the value of social service from his father,” he says.
According to him, Kishor’s family was not very keen on him foraying into politics. “When Kishor joined the JD(U) in 2018, his father was not very happy. But Kishor had been very obstinate since childhood,” he says, recalling how the Pandey family would relish baking gram and peanuts brought straight from the farms. Kishor’s family owns about 80 bighas of cultivable land in the village.
As the conversation returns to the current political scenario, allegations of the Jan Suraaj being BJP’s “B-team” pop up. Kedar, however, is dismissive of them. “As a poll strategist, Kishor has taken on the BJP directly in many states, including West Bengal. In the Bihar polls too, the Jan Suraaj is directly taking on scores of BJP candidates,” he says.
Just outside, in the house lawns, are children at play. (Express Photo by Santosh Singh)
Kedar proceeds to show around the two-storey house, comprising 24 rooms, of which 22 are locked. As he takes the stairs, he complains about how tough it is to maintain the house. As he reaches the verandah, a dusty mirror comes into sight, beside which is a cot with its jute weaving torn at places.
“Just before Kishor began his padyatra in 2022, he had given out a contract to revamp the house, but it had to be called off due to his busy schedule. Now, the contractor says only patchwork would not do and the house needs to be reconstructed,” Kedar says.
Just outside, in the house lawns, are children at play. When asked who Kishor is, pat comes a girl’s reply: “Jan Suraaj”. Her friend Ragini, a Class 2 student, then sings aloud: “Jan Suraaj aayega, garibi mitayega, sundar raj laayega (Jan Suraaj will come to power, it will alleviate poverty and bring in good governance).”
As one moves farther from the house, a rice mill owner and Kishor’s relative, Vinod Pandey, says: “Kishor has been talking sense but he talks in an idealistic manner. It is very difficult to break the caste shackles of Bihar politics. Being a fellow villager does not mean we must not speak the truth.”
Another resident, who did not wish to be named, points out that the village does not blindly follow Kishor. “The main players in Bihar politics are the NDA and Mahagathbandhan,” he says.