New Delhi: Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor Monday said he earned Rs 241 crore through business consulting in the past three years, paid nearly Rs 51 crore as taxes and donated about Rs 99 crore to his party Jan Suraaj. He made the remarks at a press conference in Patna days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raised questions about the funding of his party.
Kishor said he did not charge any money for his services as an adviser earlier but when “we started the Bihar campaign, we decided that we would now charge a fee because we need money for society”. “So, since 2021, whoever has sought help from Prashant Kishor, whoever has sought advice from us…I charge a fee”.
Months after exiting political consultancy in 2021, Kishor launched the Jan Suraaj Padyatra on 2 October 2022, covering thousands of villages across Bihar over the next two years. On 2 October 2024, he launched his party Jan Suraaj.
The poll strategist-turned-politician tried to emphasise that his party believes in transparent and clean funding, and said the main source of his income is the service he provided as a political adviser to leaders and parties he served as a consultant.
He further said all donations given to the party are via cheque.
“Some young members of the BJP held a press conference asking where Prashant Kishor’s money comes from. Prashant Kishor has purchased land in Patna. He owns a shell company. You, too, have occasionally asked this question: where does Jan Suraaj get its money?” he told the press conference.
Giving details about the funding of the Jan Suraaj, he said, “In the last three years, I have earned Rs 241 crore through business consulting. This is money earned by giving advice, not by stealing. On this, Rs 30.95 crore GST has been paid. Rs 20 crore income tax has been paid. Out of the remaining amount, 98.75 crore has been donated to Jan Suraaj Party. We are putting money earned by our hard work.”
For Jan Suraaj, the upcoming Bihar elections will be the first major electoral test and Kishor has been campaigning aggressively for his party, making corruption allegations against a number of BJP and JDU leaders.
“In the next 10 years, even if we have to sell our body to bring money, we will bring it, but we will not allow chori ki rajneeti in Bihar (politics of corruption),” Kishor told the press conference.
He said he charged Navayuga Construction Rs 11 crore for two hours of advice.
“This is the strength of the boy from Bihar… Saraswati’s strength. Our companions of the Jan Suraaj have also donated themselves before taking money from the people of Bihar,” he added.
पीके के पैसे का हिसाब मांगने वालों, ले लो एक-एक पैसे का हिसाब !! pic.twitter.com/sYAQ1qE5vO
— Jan Suraaj (@jansuraajonline) September 29, 2025
He said it vital for everyone to know “where Prashant Kishor gets his money” and also his moral responsibility to share this information but “sawan ke andhe ko sab hariyali hi dikhati hai” (people will see only what they want to see).
“Who are the people who give him that money? What is its source, and how is it spent…So, before I make any revelations today, I want to tell you, for myself, for my colleagues involved in the Jan Suraaj, and for the people of Bihar, that I am releasing the figures to you now.
“Please note them so that every citizen of Bihar knows where the Jan Suraaj’s money comes from, through which source it came and where it is being spent. I’m saying this so that tomorrow no one points out that Prashant Kishor is also blaming others. Others are also blaming Prashant Kishor,” he told the press conference.
Kishor said they had decided that to create a new system in Bihar and that the Jan Suraaj should have its own resources so “we don’t have to resort to the help of any sand mafia, liquor mafia, or corrupt people”.
“Even the poorest of the poor, if they have the passion and the strength to improve Bihar, can contest elections,” he said.
With this vision in mind, he said, it was decided that they would raise funds from the public. At the same time, he said, when the campaign started it was decided that “whether the people of Bihar donate money or not, I will devote everything in my life to improving this system in Bihar”.
“And this isn’t just my words. You see, I haven’t released the figures yet, just because in our Sanatan Dharma, our religion says that the money donated should not be discussed. But since the local leaders here have raised the issue, I am releasing the figures.”
Kishor said the money in the last three years has come from two sources.
“One is from those we advice, which you can call political consulting, or anyone who asks for our advice. We have never charged a fee from anyone in our life. But when we started the Bihar campaign, we decided that we would now charge a fee because we need money for society. So, since 2021, whoever has sought help from Prashant Kishor, whoever has sought advice from us, be it a company or a political party, for the first time in my life I have also done this: if a company or even a big business house needs advice from me, I charge a fee,” he said.
He said the total fees collected over the last three years have been deposited in his personal account or in those of the organisations associated with him.
Kishor said unlike others, they have decided that whatever money they earn in the next10 years, they will invest it in improving the system in Bihar.
BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal had raised questions regarding Jan Suraaj’s funding and had accused Kishor of raising crores through shell companies.
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