Anurag Thakur Calls Prashant Kishor "General Who Fled" After Decision to Skip Bihar Elections

Senior BJP leader Anurag Thakur has criticized Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor for deciding not to contest the upcoming Bihar elections, calling him a "general" who abandoned the battlefield before the fight began.

During his campaign visit to Patna, Thakur remarked to NDTV, "The general has fled. What will happen to the Army?" - clearly questioning Kishor's leadership abilities.

When questioned about the absence of Muslim candidates among BJP's 101 nominees for the Bihar election, the former Union Minister defended his party's selection process: "We give tickets based on winnability. We focus on Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. We do not provide facilities to people based on religion and caste. The one who can win gets the ticket."

Kishor had confirmed in a recent interview that he would not be contesting the polls, explaining that Jan Suraaj had decided he should focus on organizational responsibilities instead. Despite not running personally, Kishor boldly predicted defeat for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar, claiming that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JDU would struggle to secure even 25 seats.

"The NDA is definitely on its way out and Nitish Kumar will not return as Chief Minister," Kishor stated, while setting an ambitious target for his own party - declaring that "anything less than 150 seats" would constitute a "defeat" for Jan Suraaj.

The BJP responded to Kishor's decision not to contest by suggesting it was a calculated business move. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla remarked, "Prashant Kishor is a very smart businessman and he has also had a lot of experience in running election campaigns. Perhaps, the businessman and former election campaigner in him has realized that the real situation on the ground is not favorable for him or his party and that if he loses this election, then his business enterprise will have no takers in the future."

The Bihar Assembly elections, covering all 243 seats, are scheduled for November 6 and 11, with results to be announced on November 14.