'Will end liquor ban within an hour if elected': Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor makes big promise for Bihar polls

Jan Suraaj, which is set to become a political party in less than a month, will contest all 243 seats in the Bihar assembly polls due next year, Prashant Kishor has said.

Activist and Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor has claimed that his party will remove liquor ban from Bihar within an hour if elected to power in the state.

Talking to reporters in Patna on Saturday, Prashant said, "There is no need for any separate preparation for the 2nd. We have been preparing for the last 2 years...If Jan Suraaj government is formed, we will end the liquor ban within one hour."

He also took a dig at RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's Aabhar Yatra in the state and said, "My best wishes to him that at least he came out of the house."

Jan Suraaj, which is set to become a political party in less than a month, will contest "all 243 seats" in the Bihar assembly polls due next year, the political strategist-turned-activist has said.

Addressing a press conference in Purnea district on Thursday, Kishor had said that the party will be formed on October 2 "with active support of at least one crore people of the state, which would leave no need for any alliance".

"The prohibition law is nothing but a sham (dhakosla) on part of Nitish Kumar," he said.

He criticised the current prohibition as ineffective, claiming that it has led to illegal home deliveries of alcohol and deprived the state of Rs 20,000 crore in potential excise revenue.

Kishor accused politicians and bureaucrats of benefiting from the illegal liquor trade.

Good representation to Muslims in Bihar Assembly polls is another promise made by the Jun Suraaj leader.

"We tend to give tickets to at least 40 Muslims in elections to the 243-strong assembly. The community will also have a fair share of representation in the organization's leadership," Kishor told the reporters.

(With PTI inputs)