India, Oct. 21 -- Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of coercing three Jan Suraaj Party candidates to withdraw their nominations from the Bihar elections. He urged the Election Commission to take immediate action, calling the incident a direct assault on democracy.

Speaking at a press conference, Kishor claimed that the ruling NDA was so afraid of losing the polls that it had resorted to pressuring opposition candidates to step aside. "Democracy is being murdered. There has been no such precedent in the country," he said.

Kishor alleged that candidates fielded by Jan Suraaj in the Danapur, Brahampur, and Gopalganj constituencies were forced to withdraw under pressure fro...