Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor was stopped from entering Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s ancestral village Kalyan Bigha in Nalanda, leading to a heated exchange with officials over alleged top-down orders.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor was stopped by district officials from entering Kalyan Bigha, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar‘s ancestral village in Nalanda, during a campaign event on Saturday, triggering a heated exchange with local authorities. The confrontation, captured on video, shows Kishor questioning the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) over the restrictions, insisting that his party is committed to lawful conduct.
Kishor, known for his grassroots political campaigns, alleged that the district administration had selectively restricted his movement. “They didn’t stop me in the entire 3 km stretch of villages before this, but now they claim I can’t enter Kalyan Bigha because of orders from the top,” he said, adding that locals had voiced complaints about corruption and the lack of development benefits, contrary to official claims.
The SDM, in turn, cited potential law and order issues, stating, “If my intention was to stop you, I would have stopped you in Bihar Sharif itself. But we have received complaints, and such gatherings can create tensions.” Kishor responded, “We are law-abiding people. What will you do if I refuse to follow your instructions? Are you trying to intimidate me by gathering people here?”
District administration cites permission violation
In a subsequent statement, the Nalanda district administration clarified that Kishor’s party had only been granted permission for a public meeting at the Labour Welfare Ground in Bihar Sharif, not for village-level events. “The party attempted to hold meetings at unauthorized locations, violating the conditions of their original application,” the statement read, adding that further investigations are underway to determine if the gathering was intended to disrupt public order.
Kishor, however, dismissed these claims as bureaucratic overreach, describing the move as a part of a “new tradition” in Bihar where political outreach is being stifled. He added, “Nitish ji has built good roads here, and this should be the standard across Bihar. But such arbitrary restrictions show the kind of ‘jungle raaj’ officers are imposing in the state.”
The incident comes at a politically sensitive time for Bihar, with assembly elections just months away, intensifying the contest between the ruling JD(U)-RJD alliance and emerging regional challengers like Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party.
(Inputs from Shiv Kumar)