Bihar polls: Prashant Kishor accuses BJP of ‘pressuring’ Jan Suraaj candidates; urges Election Commission to act | India News

NEW DELHI: Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Tuesday accused the BJP of “pressuring” three of his party’s candidates to withdraw their nominations for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, directly naming Union home minister Amit Shah and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. While Shah is the BJP’s chief strategist, Pradhan has been appointed as the party’s election in-charge for Bihar.“Look at this picture: you can see home minister Amit Shah and Dharmendra Pradhan. You talk about model code of conduct…the home minister kept a candidate with him for one full day so that he could not file his nomination,” Kishor said at a news conference in Patna.“If the home minister forces someone to be with him, what can that person do? Where’s the Election Commission? Two central ministers are surrounding Jan Suraaj candidate…from here, we will go to the Election Commission to file an official complaint,” he added.The candidates who withdrew from the race were fielded in the Danapur, Brahampur, and Gopalganj seats, Kishor stated.The poll strategist-turned-politician further alleged that the ruling NDA was scared of its “imminent defeat” and urged the Election Commission to ensure the security of all candidates contesting the Bihar polls.The Bihar assembly elections will be held on November 6 and 11. The counting of votes is scheduled for November 14.