Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor unleashed a political firestorm in Patna, alleging that Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary misled the Supreme Court by claiming to be a minor to avoid trial in a 1995 mass murder case in Tarapur, Munger district. During a press conference, Kishor pointed to Choudhary’s 2020 state legislative council affidavit, which lists his age as 51, contradicting his earlier claim of being 14 during the incident, suggesting he was in his mid-20s. Labeling these allegations as grave, Kishor demanded Choudhary’s immediate dismissal and announced plans to meet Bihar’s Governor on September 30 to press for action, warning that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the BJP risk public backlash if they fail to respond.

Kishor further challenged Choudhary to clarify his alleged involvement in the 1999 Shilpi-Gautam murder case, where Shilpi Jain and Gautam Singh were found dead in a car near the residence of Sadhu Yadav, brother of then-Chief Minister Rabri Devi. The CBI closed the case as a suicide, but Choudhary’s ministerial role at the time—allegedly a reward for his father Shakuni Choudhary’s defection to the RJD—has fueled speculation of political cover-up. Kishor also revisited his prior accusation that Choudhary falsely claimed a D.Litt degree without completing Class X, underscoring a pattern of deceit. These claims intensify scrutiny on Choudhary, a former state BJP president who holds critical portfolios like finance in the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government.

In response, Choudhary dismissed Kishor’s allegations as a desperate ploy by a “failed investigative journalist” attempting to deflect from his own alleged corruption. He insisted that legal forums exist for such claims and accused Kishor of seeking publicity ahead of the 2025 Bihar elections. The controversy is compounded by Choudhary’s history of name changes—from Rakesh Kumar to Samrat Kumar Maurya to Samrat Choudhary—raising questions about transparency in his public life. The Jan Suraaj Party’s aggressive stance threatens to disrupt the NDA’s narrative of clean governance, especially as Kishor positions his fledgling party as a viable alternative in Bihar’s polarized political landscape.

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Kishor also escalated tensions with JD(U) minister Ashok Choudhary, demanding the withdrawal of a Rs 100 crore defamation notice issued against him for exposing an alleged Rs 200 crore benami land deal. Threatening to reveal financial irregularities worth Rs 500 crore, Kishor claimed that the Manav Vaibhav Vikas Trust, linked to Ashok’s daughter, Lok Sabha MP Shambhavi Choudhary, and a relative of Chief Secretary Pratyay Amrit, received a suspicious Rs 100 crore donation. He challenged the trust’s associates to disclose funding sources to prove their integrity, amplifying allegations of systemic corruption within Bihar’s ruling elite.

Defending his party’s finances, Kishor clarified that Jan Suraaj’s funds stem from past political consultancy services provided gratis, with all taxes, including GST, duly paid. He rejected BJP accusations of using shell companies, asserting that his resources are dedicated to building a political alternative in Bihar. As the 2025 elections loom, Kishor’s calculated attacks, backed by detailed claims, aim to erode public trust in the NDA coalition, positioning Jan Suraaj as a champion of accountability and reform in a state long plagued by political controversies.

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