Prashant Kishor faces criticism over criminal backgrounds of his party candidates in Bihar bypoll
Patna: As political tensions rise in Bihar ahead of the November 13 by-elections for four Assembly seats, all eyes are on the candidates nominated by various parties, including the new Jan Suraaj Party, led by political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, media reports said.
The by-elections will take place for the Belagnj, Imamganj, Ramgarh, and Tarari seats on November 13.
Prashant Kishor, who has worked with major political parties in previous elections, has been vocal against the criminalization of politics and advocates for the inclusion of honest and educated people in government, reported India Today.
However, people have criticized him for double standards as the backgrounds of the candidates his party has chosen to field are far from clean.
According to the India Today report, Agriculture businessman Mohammad Amjad (55), who is Jan Suraaj Party’s candidate from Belagnj, e faces charges including attempt to murder, extortion, and assault, with no acquittals in any cases, revealed his affidavit filed with the Election Commission.
Kishor initially nominated Khilafat Hussain for the Belagnj seat but later replaced him with Amjad.
Amjad has previously contested Assembly elections in 2005 and 2010 and is a former Panchayat Pramukh.
Kishor’s selection for the Imamganj Assembly seat for the by-elections is Jitendra Paswan has the highest number of criminal cases out of the four of the Jan Suraaj Party candidates, the report said
Jitendra Paswan's election affidavit reveals his involvement in cases of kidnapping, fraud, assault, and theft. However, the affidavit also states that many of these allegations were deemed false during investigations, and in the remaining cases, he has been found innocent or acquitted by the court.
Sushil Kumar Singh Kushwaha, 55, has been given a Jan Suraaj ticket to contest from the Ramgarh Assembly seat. He has a case of attempt to murder, cheque bounce and assault registered against him, according to the report.
Among the four candidates fielded by Prashant Kishor in the Bihar bypolls, only Kiran Singh does not have a criminal background or any registered cases against her, said the report.
According to the India Today report, none of the candidates has studied beyond class 12.
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