Poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s electoral debut with his Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) resulted in a crushing defeat in the Bihar election, as the party failed to win any of the 238 seats it contested, secured a low 3.34% vote share, and saw 99% of its candidates lose their security deposits; despite the setback, the JSP accused the winning Nitish Kumar government of “diverting” ₹14,000 crore of a World Bank loan to “purchase” votes with “freebies.”
| Metric | Result | Context |
| Seats Won | Zero (0/238 contested) | Began with leads in four constituencies but ended wiped out. |
| Security Deposits | 236 of 238 candidates lost theirs | Failed to secure at least one-sixth of the winning candidate’s votes. |
| Vote Share | 3.34% | Lower than some exit poll predictions of near 10%. |
| NOT A Factor | Polled fewer votes than NOTA in 61 constituencies. | Highlighted the extent of the failure to connect with voters. |
NDA Victory Context
The JSP’s defeat occurred amid a massive landslide victory for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which won 202 of 243 seats.
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BJP: 89 seats (Up 15 from 2020)
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JDU: 85 seats (Up 42 from 2020)
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Mahagathbandhan: Utterly defeated, winning only 35 seats (down from 110 in 2020).
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New CM: Nitish Kumar will be sworn in as Chief Minister on November 20.
