Poll consultant Prashant Kishor suspended his Jan Suraaj Yatra on Monday because of a tear in his thigh muscles, apparently caused by walking continuously on the bad, poorly constructed, uneven roads of Bihar. The yatra will resume from June 11.

“I have been experiencing difficulty in walking due to a muscle tear in my left leg. This, according to the doctors, happened due to walking 20 to 25km daily for a long time on bad roads. They have suggested rest for my feet for 15 to 20 days,” Kishor said while talking to reporters at Morwa in Samastipur district.

“This is the reason I have to suspend the yatra. It will resume on June 11 from here in the same form,” Kishor added.

The 46-year-old poll consultant was unable to continue to walk ahead for the past few days in Samastipur. He had encountered some foot-related trouble in Vaishali last month but had continued with the yatra. “While marching through the Vaishali district I experienced some pain in my left leg. I stopped at Sukkhi for five days. Doctors treated it, I felt some relief and started walking again. But the muscle tear resurfaced and increased. I stopped for a day and got it examined. It’s not due to any disease, but due to overuse,” he added.

Kishor asserted that his ‘padayatra’ or foot march will take another one to one-and-a-half years to complete. Hence he has decided to take a break to allow his leg to heal.

The poll consultant and his team members walking with him during the yatra returned to Patna on Monday afternoon.

Sources said he was taking the “necessary rest and precautions to allow the muscles in his left thigh to heal but could also visit New Delhi for further medical examination, rest and to meet a few people”.

Kishor embarked on his yatra from Mahatma Gandhi’s Bhitiharwa Ashram in the West Champaran district on October 2, 2022, as a part of his Jan Suraaj campaign. He walked over 2500km through West Champaran, East Champaran, Sheohar, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, and Vaishali districts and entered Samastipur district on May 11.

“He consulted doctors after facing foot-related problems. The people connected to Jan Suraaj’s campaign took a unanimous decision to suspend the yatra for a few days,” an official statement by Jan Suraaj said.

The Jan Suraaj campaign launched by Kishor last year, calls for a collective effort for the betterment of people’s lives, a radical change in the socio-political system of Bihar with an aim to place the state among the top 10 states in the country in the next 10 years.

The yatra is also a part of the campaign. It has been undertaken with an aim to identify people at the grassroots with the help of the society, provide them with a suitable democratic platform, understand local problems and priorities, and prepare a vision document for the next 15 years for health, education, employment, economy, development, agriculture, industry, social justice and other areas.

Once the march is over, Kishor aims to launch a political outfit with the nod of the people connected with the Jan Suraaj. It will contest polls in the state. Kishor has walked continuously during the yatra without taking a break, stopping only to address public meetings and take rest at night. He kept up with his march during the harsh winter and scorching summer, but refused to use a vehicle.

Several former bureaucrats and people from different walks of life have joined the Jan Suraaj campaign in the past few months. A candidate supported by the campaign won in the MLC polls last month, surprising the ruling Grand Alliance and Opposition BJP alike.