Jan Suraaj will contest all 243 seats in Bihar polls, at least 40 candidates to be women: Prashant Kishor

Patna: Activist Prashant Kishor on Sunday said his Jan Suraaj will contest all 243 seats in next year's assembly elections in Bihar and at least 40 candidates will be women.

Addressing a women's convention in Patna, Kishor, the founder of political consultancy firm I-PAC, said Jan Suraaj wants to empower women of the state. "I have already said that Jan Suraaj will contest all 243 assembly seats in Bihar in 2025. Out of the total 243 seats, Jan Suraaj will field women candidates on at least 40 seats," he said.

"When Jan Suraaj forms the government in Bihar in 2025, any women who wish to earn on their own and want to become businesswomen will be provided financial support at a very nominal rate, which will be less than the existing rate of interest charged from Jeevika Didis," he added.

'Jeevika Didis' are women associated with self-help groups under the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project in the state.

"Jan Suraaj wants to empower the women of the state. As long as women do not get economic independence, their equal participation is not possible in the government. When the Jan Suraaj government is formed, no one will be forced to leave Bihar for a job of Rs 10,000-12,000. We have prepared a comprehensive plan for this," Kishor said.

In January, he had said that at least 75 people belonging to the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) will be fielded by a single platform supported by Jan Suraaj in the 2025 assembly elections.