Prashant Kishor's party candidate a Noida voter, may lose out

Prashant Kishor, who has ambitious plans to contest the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections and is positioning himself as a major political force, made a significant misstep in his first attempt at electoral politics during the by-elections. 

His party, Jan Suraj, announced its candidate for the Tarari assembly seat -- retired Lieutenant General Krishna Singh. However, the nomination of Krishna Singh revealed a fundamental error in understanding the constitutional requirements for state Assembly elections.

Krishna Singh, although a native of Karath village in the Tarari constituency of Bhojpur district, had been living in Noida during his military service. His name is on the voter list in Noida, not Bihar.

According to the constitutional provisions governing Assembly and Legislative Council elections, a candidate must be a resident of the state and be included in that state's voter list to contest an election. Since Krishna Singh is a registered voter of Noida, he is ineligible to contest in Bihar's Assembly elections.

“While Krishna Singh is originally from Karath village in Tarari, he had enrolled himself in the voter list of Noida during the 2019 Lok Sabha election, and his voter registration was never transferred back to Bihar. The party is now closely examining the "technical aspect" of the issue to determine whether there is any way to address the problem within the confines of the current electoral process,” said an official spokesperson of the Jan Suraj Party.

He further said, “However, because the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has already been enforced in the four Assembly constituencies where by-elections are being held, it is not possible to change the voter registration during this period. If the technical team cannot resolve the issue, the Jan Suraj Party is prepared to change its candidate for the Tarari seat,” he said.

While there is no such restriction for contesting Lok Sabha elections, where a candidate can contest from any constituency across the country, state Assembly and Legislative Council elections require the candidate to be a registered voter of the state they wish to represent.

This oversight can be seen as a significant blunder for Jan Suraj in its early phase, casting doubt on its organisational preparedness and strategic planning.

The Jan Suraj Party acknowledged their mistake in selecting Lieutenant General Krishna Singh as their candidate for the Tarari Assembly seat in the by-election.

They described it as a "technical mistake", emphasizing that the decision to field Krishna Singh was based on his connection to his native place in Tarari, but they overlooked the constitutional requirement that a candidate must be a voter of the state. As Krishna Singh is a registered voter in Noida, he cannot contest in the Bihar Assembly elections.

Despite this setback, Jan Suraj will field a new candidate for the Tarari seat, with the replacement likely to be announced soon. Interestingly, Krishna Singh will still play a central role in the campaign, taking charge of all activities, including campaigning, for the new candidate.