Prashant Kishor alleges 3 candidates of his party withdrew from Bihar polls

Patna, Oct 21: Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Tuesday alleged that three candidates of his Jan Suraaj Party were forced to withdraw from the Bihar elections under “pressure” from the BJP.
Addressing a press conference, Kishor alleged that the ruling NDA was so scared of losing the elections that it was threatening opposition candidates to withdraw from the race.
“Democracy is being murdered. There has been no such precedent in the country,” he alleged, urging the Election Commission to ensure the security of the candidates.
The candidates who were forced to withdraw were fielded in the Danapur, Brahampur, and Gopalganj seats, he said.
Kishor said Jan Suraaj’s Brahampur candidate Satyaprakash Tiwari, who runs a clinic in Patna, was actively campaigning till Sunday, but surprisingly withdrew his nomination on Monday morning.
Showing a photo of Tiwari with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is the BJP election-in-charge for Bihar, he claimed that it was taken a day before the deadline for withdrawal of nomination papers.
“Pradhan went to Tiwari’s home to put pressure on him to withdraw… and the very next day he withdrew his candidature,” he alleged.
Kishor claimed the BJP is trying to ensure the victory of the NDA candidate, LJP (RV)’s Hulas Pandey in Brahampur, who is a local strongman.
“The BJP is afraid of candidates who are doctors, educators, activists and social workers, filed by Jan Suraaj Party,” he claimed.
Kishor said his party had fielded Shashi Shekhar Sinha in the Gopalganj seat.
“The candidate told me that BJP leaders were putting pressure on him. A BJP MLC, along with his supporters, met our candidate and ensured that the Jan Suraaj nominee withdrew his nominations… and he did it,” he claimed. (PTI)