New Delhi:

A retired diplomat and IIT graduate has been named as the working president of the new political outfit Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), formed by election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor.

Manoj Bharti, handpicked by Mr Kishor as one of the key members of the JSP, is a resident of Madhubani in Bihar and a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur (BTech) and Delhi (MTech).

Mr Kishor formally launched his political party in Patna today.

READ | Prashant Kishor Launches Party Before Bihar Polls, Vows To End Liquor Ban

Mr Bharti has been India’s ambassador to Ukraine, Belarus, Timor-Leste, and Indonesia.

In his LinkedIn profile, Mr Bharti described in brief his last posting in Indonesia, where he said he managed the visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 13 ministers under the Group of 20 (G20) for building trust in defence, security and education cooperation.

Mr Kishor formed his political party two years after he went on a 3,000-km padayatra of Bihar, beginning from Champaran, where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the first Satyagraha. Mr Kishor has said his idea was to mobilise people for a “new political alternative” that could cure Bihar of its chronic backwardness.

At the launch event today, he said the party has been active for the last two years and recently received approval from the Election Commission.

“The Jan Suraaj campaign has been going on for two-three years. People had been asking when would we form the party. We all must thank god, today the Election Commission has officially accepted Jan Suraaj as Jan Suraaj Party,” Mr Kishor said.

He said Bihar needs at least Rs 5 lakh crore in the next 10 years if Bihar wants to have a world-class education system. He has also promised to end liquor ban in Bihar immediately if elected to power.

The Jan Suraj Party is likely to contest in all constituencies in the Bihar assembly election next year.