Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday offered political advice to Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor after his party failed to secure a single seat in the recent Bihar Assembly elections. Speaking at a public event in Mumbai, Fadnavis delivered what he called a practical political lesson.
"There are two ways to run a democracy... through ideology or through numbers. But you cannot propagate an ideology without numbers," the chief minister said.
He added that politics demands a pragmatic approach, without representation, even the strongest value systems struggle to find space.
Fadnavis questions Jan Suraaj’s impact
Referring directly to Kishor’s performance in Bihar, Fadnavis underlined the limitations of an ideological movement lacking legislative presence. "He presented an ideological alternative in Bihar but could not win a single seat. How can he bring change? To keep your ideology, ethos and morality alive, you always need to be relevant in politics," he said.
Bihar elections 2025
Jan Suraaj, which contested 238 of Bihar’s 243 assembly seats, finished without a single victory. Following the setback, Kishor pledged to intensify his efforts to transform Bihar and declared a day-long silent fast at Gandhi Bhitiharwa Ashram on November 20.
In the Bihar elections, the NDA secured 202 seats, commanding a three-fourths majority in the assembly. The BJP emerged as the largest party with 89 seats, followed by JD(U) with 85. The opposition Mahagathbandhan managed only 35 seats. This marks the second time the NDA has crossed the 200-seat mark in Bihar, the earlier instance being the 2010 elections, where it bagged 206 seats.
Maharashtra civic elections
During the same event, Fadnavis also spoke about the upcoming civic polls in the state. He announced that the BJP plans to allocate at least 40% of its tickets to candidates below 35, signalling a push toward younger leadership.
