Poll consultant Prashant Kishor notched up his first electoral success in Bihar as a candidate supported by his Jan Suraaj campaign won one of the five seats in the MLC elections.

Afaque Ahmad, 59, won from the Saran teacher constituency, defeating the ruling Grand Alliance-supported CPI candidate Anand Pushkar by 674 votes. The Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) seat had fallen vacant after the death of Pushkar’s father Kedar Nath Pandey.

Ahmad took voluntary retirement after serving as a teacher at Aamna Urdu High School in Bettiah, West Champaran district, for 35 years and joined Kishor last year. He contested the MLC polls as an Independent.

Kishor launched the Jan Suraaj campaign last year and embarked on a padayatra to chart a separate political course in the state.

Speaking at Dighwara in Saran district during his yatra on Thursday, Kishor expressed happiness over Ahmad’s victory and said: “Jan Suraaj will neither cut the votes of the BJP nor of the RJD, but the people will cut and clean them out. I did not do anything but the Grand Alliance and the BJP both are worried about their loss in the Saran teachers’ constituency. Ahmad is the son of a farmer and has won the poll without spending a rupee.”

“Teachers from six districts voted. The RJD and the BJP had got their voters enrolled in their strongholds, but votes went to the Jan Suraaj candidate,” Kishor added.