Patna: The Jan Suraaj Party has alleged that the recent Bihar Assembly elections were heavily influenced by both fear tactics and cash incentives. Party leaders and Assembly candidates held a review meeting in Patna on Sunday to assess their electoral performance and discuss strategies for strengthening the party.
Addressing the gathering at Sheikhpura House, state president Manoj Bharti claimed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had attempted to sway voters by distributing Rs 10,000 to women and stoking fears of a return to “jungle raj.” Party coordinator Prashant Kishor was also present at the meeting.
Candidates reported that, despite the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, payments continued to reach women’s accounts. Rumours circulated that post-election payments of Rs 2 lakh would follow, which they said disrupted the election narrative and undermined their campaigns. According to the party, Jeevika volunteers, operating as proxies for the ruling coalition, visited homes to encourage votes for the NDA, instructed women on candidate serial numbers at polling stations, and in some cases pressed EVM buttons on behalf of elderly voters.
The party further alleged that outsiders were deployed in multiple districts to spread messages warning that a vote for Jan Suraj would revive a 20-year “jungle raj,” tapping into local concerns over illiteracy, unemployment, and migration. The party said these tactics contributed to the sudden collapse of their vote share.
The meeting was attended by prominent figures including mathematician K.C. Sinha, former MLA Kishore Kumar Munna, former Legislative Councilor Rambali Chandravanshi, and other senior party leaders and National Council members.
