Projection of Tejashwi as CM candidate will not sway public mood in favour of INDIA bloc: Prashant Kishor

SIWAN: Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Thursday claimed that the projection of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate will not sway public mood in favour of the INDIA bloc in poll-bound Bihar. Talking to reporters in Siwan, where he was campaigning for his party, Kishor also said Yadav's promises, like government employee status to contractual workers and a hike in renumeration ring hollow. It was always known that if (RJD president) Lalu ji's jungle raj were to return in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav would be chief minister. Therefore, the announcement is no big deal, Kishor said. He also made light of the announcement that former state minister Mukesh Sahni, who heads the Vikassheel Insan Party and belongs to an extremely backward class, would be a deputy CM. Addressing a crowded press conference here earlier in the day, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said Sahni and leaders from other sections of society will be deputy CMs if the INDIA bloc comes to power in the state, keeping in mind the complex social structure of Bihar. It is a sign of desperation. When power seems out of reach, you may promise to make as many deputy CMs as possible. But, this is not going to cut ice with the posters. The NDA is on its way out, of course, but it is Jan Suraaj, which will form the next government in Bihar, asserted the former political strategist. Kishor, 47, who had earlier vowed to challenge Yadav on his home turf, bristled at suggestions that he an out of the contest. He also insisted that Yadav's populism will yield no electoral dividends, since he people of Bihar remember very well how badly governed Bihar was when the RJD was in power. Meanwhile, Zeyauddin Khan, the Jan Suraaj Party candidate from Sitamarhi, withdrew his nomination papers. The 60-year-old said in a Facebook post that he was making a sacrifice in the interests of society at large. Earlier, two candidates had failed to file nomination papers, while another had withdrawn from the contest, which Kishor has alleged was under pressure from the BJP, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah. INDIA bloc not 'one-man show' but people's alliance: Congress after Tejashwi named CM face in Bihar