As Bihar gears up for the assembly election this year, the ongoing students’ movement has propelled a strong contender in the form of Jan Suraaj Party led by Prashant Kishor.

The students’ protest which started on a small scale with BPSC aspirants demanding a re-examination for the 70th BPSC prelims due to a suspected leak has turned into a mass movement highlighting larger issues of transparency, fairness, and accountability in Bihar’s examination processes.

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The students’ protest gained significant attention as they got support from various opposition parties, including the RJD, Congress, CPI and independent MP Pappu Yadav.

However, Prashant Kishor’s continued support gave it a new direction and turned it into a mass protest against the government. His 48-hour deadline for the government to resolve the matter, followed by his hunger strike at the historic Gandhi Maidan forced the Nitish government to take note of it.

The video showing police officials manhandling Prashant Kishor, followed by a series of events including his arrest, refusal for conditional bail and finally being released on unconditional bail has made him victorious.

Pushpendra Kumar, former professor and dean at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), see it as god-send opportunity for Prashant Kishor, the former election strategist who recently announced that his three-month-old Jan Suraaj Party will contest the assembly elections expected to be held in October-November.

Kumar said that Kishor’s strong entry has put both the RJD and JD(U) under pressure.

His release on unconditional bail proves that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has realised the impact of turning youth rage into a mass movement under Kishor’s leadership.

On the contrary, Tejashwi Yadav missed the opportunity to emerge as a leader of youth who form a key vote bank in Bihar. The state has over 50 per cent of its population under the age of 25.

“While Prashant Kishor used this opportunity to shed his image of being pro-establishment, he has also become a campaigner for Bihar’s youth,” he said.

He observed that Prashant Kishor may emerge as a key factor in assembly polls. There is doubt that his Jan Suraaj Party will make it big on its own. But it will seriously hamper poll prospects of the RJD and JDU. BJP will gain positively.

“Chirag Paswan damaged the JD(U) during the 2020 assembly elections. Its advantage went to the RJD. But Prashant Kishor’s entry will hurt both the JDU as well the RJD. It will help the BJP grab the chief ministership it has been eyeing for a long time,” he added.

Jan Suraaj Party had performed badly when it made electoral debut during the by-polls held for four assembly constituencies in November 2024. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had swept the by-polls. The RJD suffered a significant blow, losing three of its previously held seats.