40,000 paramilitary personnel proof that Delhi protest was successful: Prashant Kishor
Prashant Kishor said the deployment of 40,000 paramilitary personnel during Saturday’s Delhi protest demonstrated its success as he joined the Opposition’s demand for CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. (File Photo)
Deployment of 40,000 paramilitary forces in Delhi was a good enough proof that the protest in the national capital on Saturday was successful, Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder and Bankipur MLA Prashant Kishor said as he joined the Opposition in demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
He said the credibility of the Election Commission of India (EC) had eroded in the last 8-10 years.
Reacting to media questions on the protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar, Kishor said: “Many people are looking at how many people attended the protest, but the fact that the government had to deploy 40,000 paramilitary forces to stop it shows how powerful it was.”
He said the protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was a reflection of people’s diminishing faith in the ECI. “In last eight to 10 years, there have been serious questions on the credibility of the ECI. CEC Kumar should resign,” Kishor said. He pointed out how ECI had not stopped the Bihar government from distributing Rs 10,000 each to Jeevika workers during the 2025 Assembly elections.
‘Panic in NDA ahead of MLC polls’
The JSP founder also targeted an NDA meeting held in Bihar on Saturday, viewing it as sign of “growing vulnerability” of the ruling alliance. “Just as their panic was visible from the meeting of 480 leaders in Bankipur (ahead of the bypoll in August), there is a similar panic regarding the MLC elections. Whether the NDA calls a meeting of the legislature or the legislative council, the educated teacher and graduate voters of Bihar have made up their mind to defeat the ruling alliance’s candidates,” said Kishor.
Notably, JD (U) MLA Anant Kumar Singh has openly expressed support for JSP Patna Graduate seat candidate Anuj Singh against his own party’s candidate, Neeraj Kumar, in the poll scheduled on October 23.
In August, Kishor had scripted history by winning Bankipur, a BJP bastion, by a margin of over 19,000 votes in the bypoll. The seat had been represented by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Nitin Nabin for five terms.
Santosh Singh is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express since June 2008. Expertise He covers Bihar with main focus on politics, society and governance. Investigative and explanatory stories are also his forte. Singh has 25 years of experience in print journalism covering Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. ... Read More
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