PATNA, Aug. 27 -- Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor's statement on Tuesday that with the support of Muslims, his party could have a realistic chance of forming the government in Bihar underlines the importance of minority votes in the state election, as it has always been.

Kishor has already announced that his party would field a significant number of Muslim candidates, around 40 in the 243-member Bihar Assembly and he sought their support again at the Muslim Mukti Ekta Sammelan. "You need to come out of the fear of the BJP, which political parties have used to treat you as a mere vote bank. With your support, we can change the Bihar regime," he added.

His statement is significant, as Muslims have hitherto mostly backed the RJD a...