After the Election Commission announced the bypolls for the four seats of Bihar, Jan Suraaj Party leader Prashant Kishor geared up to plunge into the field. Prasant has named his candidate- Lieutenant General Krishna Singh (retired), a former Vice Chief of the Army Staff for the Tarari seat of Bihar.

Highlighting the credibility of retired General Singh, Kishor noted that Singh is one of only two Vice Chiefs of the Army Staff from Bihar, the other being the late S.K. Sinha. He added that Singh's candidacy represents a source of pride for a constituency that has long faced challenges related to illegal sand mining and local mafia activities.

The announcement was made at a press conference by Kishor, a political strategist-turned-activist along with the party's working president Manoj Bharti, a retired diplomat-turned-politician and others.

At the conference, Singh also emphasised the issue of the Agniveer scheme, particularly on its four-year contractual service. Kishor said the scheme weakens ‘regimentation’ which ultimately leads to the decrease of long-term dedication among soldiers.

Adding to this he also noted the Galwam Valley clash and said, “The Chinese are well equipped and have better technical knowledge but are lacking in spirit.

Although, Singh condemned the Agniveer scheme but motivated youngsters to treat defence forces as a career option, citing that the policies may evolve and be amended over time.

Singh further said, "My children are settled abroad and my wife is no more. I am giving up a comfortable life because of my love for Tarari, the place to which I belong. The respect I get there for having served in the army is something I never saw in Delhi or Noida.”

 

About Lieutenant General Krishna Singh 

 

Singh, who retired in 2013, is originally from Tarari in Bhojpur district. Although he has been residing in Delhi-NCR since his retirement, he decided to return to his hometown for the by-election due to his strong emotional ties to the area. He expressed, “The respect I receive for my service in the army is something I never experienced in Delhi or Noida.”

 The by-election was prompted by CPI(ML) leader Sudama Prasad winning a Lok Sabha seat from Arrah. Singh was selected as the candidate over former IPS officer Anand Mishra, who has significant ties to Tarari, leading to speculation about his potential candidacy for JSP.