Jan Suraaj founder and Bankipur MLA Prashant Kishor has questioned Brahmins in Mithila over their support for the BJP, arguing that the community has weakened its political influence by alienating Muslim voters who once backed its leaders.Urging the audience to prioritise education over religious mobilisation, he said, “Your strength is the pen. Your strength is Saraswati. You are not people who wield axes.”The remarks came during Kishor’s event addressing a Brahmin community in Mahinam village in Darbhanga, where he challenged the assumption that electing representatives from one’s own caste would improve living conditions. He was responding to questions about his vision for health, education and employment, and a suggestion from locals that a Brahmin should be fielded from the area.“Your MLA is already a Brahmin,” Kishor said, adding that the community had held the seat for about 15 years and that the local MP was also a Brahmin. “If electing a Brahmin alone could solve your problems, you should not have suffered at all.”Kishor argued that Brahmin leaders had previously benefited from Muslim support, which, he claimed, had shifted elsewhere after sections of the community aligned with the BJP and abused Muslims on Facebook.“You separated from yourself those who were calling you ‘guruji’ and putting you in office with their votes, by abusing them on Facebook and calling them Pakistani,” he said, questioning whether any dispute over land, reservation or local communal violence justified that estrangement.He also recalled ties between Brahmins and Extremely Backward Classes, citing the place accorded to barbers alongside priests in village life.Story continues below this adInvoking Parashuram, Kishor said the reference to wielding an axe belonged to a particular context and should not displace education. “If your child does not study, will wielding an axe fill their stomach?”He argued that the community’s historical standing came not merely from caste identity but from learning and concern for others. Its forebears, he said, educated their children even when it meant eating less, and worried about another hungry person after meeting their own needs.Questioning descriptions of Mithila as a land of intellectuals, Kishor said his Padyatra through Darbhanga and Madhubani had revealed widespread dependence on migrant labour. Families with distinguished backgrounds and large parcels of land, he claimed, were seeking jobs paying Rs 20,000 a month for their children. Others depended on money sent home by relatives settled elsewhere.Kishor accused BJP leaders of sending their own children to study in America and England while encouraging others to mobilise against Muslims with flags, bows and swords.Story continues below this adHis wider criticism centred on what he called political “bonded labour” – voting along caste or religious lines, or supporting the BJP out of fear of Lalu Prasad and vice versa. He argued that assured support allowed parties to take voters for granted.Kishor also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Bihar’s floods and contrasted promises of industry and infrastructure in Gujarat with train services that, he argued, facilitated migration from Bihar. He also attacked Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s leadership, while holding voters responsible for the representatives they elected.Citing electoral setbacks for the BJP, Kishor argued that the possibility of defeat could pressure leaders to respond. That accountability, he said, must apply equally to him and Jan Suraaj.Ahead of local-body and panchayat elections, he urged voters to choose honest candidates regardless of caste, religion or party, reject inducements and vote for their children’s education and employment. He said he could mobilise public pressure but lacked the governmental authority to build schools, hospitals and roads.Story continues below this adKishor also reiterated his opposition to a separate Mithila state, recalling criticism of his position in 2018. Bihar, he said, should not be divided further. He argued that improvement required better electoral choices.