Who is Manoj Bharti, ex-diplomat appointed as working president of Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party?

Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishore named Manoj Bharti the working president of the newly launched Jan Suraaj Party at the Jan Suraaj Foundation Convention in Patna on Wednesday.

Earlier today, Prashant Kishor officially launched his new political party, "Jan Suraaj Party," in Patna.

Manoj Bharti is a resident of Madhubani who studied at Jharkhand's Netarhat, IIT Kanpur, and did his M.Tech from IIT Delhi. He has also served in the foreign service. He was India's ambassador in Ukraine, Belarus, Timor-Leste, and Indonesia.

At the launch event, Prashant Kishor said that the party has been active for the past two years and recently received approval from the Election Commission of India.

"Jan Suraaj campaign is going on for 2-3 years. People are asking when we will be forming the party. We all must thank God, today the Election Commission has officially accepted Jan Suraaj as Jan Suraaj Party," Prashant Kishor said.

He further said that if Bihar has to have a world-class education system, Rs 5 lakh crore is needed in the next 10 years.

"If Bihar has to have a world-class education system, Rs 5 lakh crore is needed in the next 10 years. When the liquor ban will be removed, that money won't go into the budget and will not be used for the security of leaders, nor it will be used for roads, water and electricity. That will be used only for building a new education system in Bihar. Every year, Bihar is facing a loss of Rs 20,000 crore due to the liquor ban," he said.

Notably, Prashant Kishor has vowed to end the liquor ban in Bihar immediately if elected to power.

With the Election Commission's nod, the Jan Suraj Party is now expected to contest in all constituencies in the Bihar assembly elections next year.

On September 30, Prashant Kishor said that he does not want to become the leader of the party, adding that next year, in January or February, the party will release its agenda for Bihar.

Earlier, Prashant Kishor announced that the party would contest elections on all 243 seats out of which there will be 40 women candidates from the party to be formed.

The assembly elections in Bihar are likely to be held in October-November 2025.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)

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