Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor on Monday took the oath as the MLA of Bankipur at the Bihar Legislative Assembly, calling it “a matter of great honour”.

Kishor took the oath in the presence of Speaker Prem Kumar.

Kishor told reporters in Patna: “It is a matter of great honour to be part of a House that was represented by Srikrishna Singh, Anugrah Narayan Singh, Kedar Pandey, Karpoori Thakur, Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, and Sushil Kumar Modi. Being a member of the Bihar Assembly also brings a big responsibility. I will try to live up to people’s expectations.”

Prashant Kishor after taking oath as Bankipur MLA in Patna on Monday.

Kishor defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Neeraj Kumar Sinha by about 20,000 votes in the Bankipur bypoll held on July 30, ending the ruling party’s three-decade-long hold on the constituency. The bypoll was necessitated with BJP national president Nitin Nabin vacating the seat after being nominated to Rajya Sabha.

After taking the oath, Kishor headed off to address public meetings in his constituency. He has been meeting residents across every ward under Bankipur to reiterate his election promises, having already covered 14 of the 24 wards. The pledge that has garnered the most attention is his promise of 10,000 jobs for the people of his constituency.

‘Will put pressure on remaining MLAs’

“But if I do, it will put pressure on the remaining 242 MLAs. I will also ask the people of Bihar to support me in the next election,” Kishor said, clarifying that he was assuring them of jobs in the private sector.

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The first-time MLA’s 10,000-job promise has stirred a political debate with the BJP launching a veiled attack, calling the promise contradictory to Kishor’s vocal stance against out-of-state migration. Responding to the criticism, the JSP founder stated that until his party forms the government in Bihar, it can primarily facilitate jobs for its residents outside the state.

Earlier, Kishor also took aim at Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who has been fiercely critical of him, calling him “high-headed and arrogant” recently. Dismissing the comments, Kishor had said: “Giriraj Singh must stop talking nonsense. If he does not stop, I will reveal his political horoscope, just as I have done for other BJP leaders.”