Tag: Prashant Kishor

  • Modi made ‘reluctant’ Nitish CM for 2024 win: Prashant Kishor

    By Express News Service

    PATNA: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of assigning the post of the chief minister to JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar as he was apprehensive of not being able to repeat BJP’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha election without a strong foothold in the state.

    “Nitish was reluctant to become the chief minister after his party was relegated to the third position in 2020 Bihar assembly election but BJP insisted on it as it was apprehensive of not repeating its performance in 2024 Lok Sabha election without giving the CM post to him,” said Kishor.

    “BJP had a chance to make a leader from its own party, instead it gave it to Nitish,” he said while addressing a meeting held during his ongoing state-wide ‘Jansuraj Yatra’ in East Champaran district.He accused the PM of leaving Bihar in a shadow of backwardness when he had a chance to pull it out from there.

    PATNA: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of assigning the post of the chief minister to JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar as he was apprehensive of not being able to repeat BJP’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha election without a strong foothold in the state.

    “Nitish was reluctant to become the chief minister after his party was relegated to the third position in 2020 Bihar assembly election but BJP insisted on it as it was apprehensive of not repeating its performance in 2024 Lok Sabha election without giving the CM post to him,” said Kishor.

    “BJP had a chance to make a leader from its own party, instead it gave it to Nitish,” he said while addressing a meeting held during his ongoing state-wide ‘Jansuraj Yatra’ in East Champaran district.
    He accused the PM of leaving Bihar in a shadow of backwardness when he had a chance to pull it out from there.

  • Won’t contest elections myself: Prashant Kishor 

    By PTI

    BETTIAH: Political strategist turned activist Prashant Kishor ruled out the possibility of contesting elections himself, but reiterated his pledge to build a “better alternative” for his home state of Bihar.

    Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he also lambasted JD(U) leaders for alleging that he was a “dhandhebaaz” (trader) with little political acumen, and challenged them to ask Chief Minister Nitish Kumar “why he had me put up at his residence for two years”.

    “Why would I contest polls? I have no such aspirations,” snapped the I-PAC founder on being asked repeatedly whether he planned to enter the electoral arena himself.

    He was speaking on the eve of the district convention, for West Champaran, scheduled on Sunday when people’s opinions will be sought as to whether the “Jan Suraaj” campaign should be made a political party.

    Kishor, who is on a 3,500-km-long “padayatra” of the state, said similar people’s polls will be held in all districts of the state based on which the next course of action will be decided.

    Kisor claimed Kumar will once again shower encomiums on him if he joins his “political enterprise”.

    “Since I have charted an independent course for myself, he and his lackeys are unhappy with me,” he said.

    “JD(U) leaders like to berate me. They should ask Nitish Kumar what was I doing at his residence for two years if I had no political understanding,” he added.

    ALSO READ | Friends turn foes: Prashant Kishor, RCP Singh slam CM over governance

    Replying to a query, Kishor said he did not repent for having worked with Kumar in the past.

    “There is a world of difference between what he (Kumar) was 10 years ago and what he is now. He had given up his chair in 2014 owning moral responsibility for his party’s drubbing in Lok Sabha polls. Now, he is willing to make any type of compromise to stay in power,” Kishor said.

    Mocking the grand alliance government’s promise of 10 lakh jobs a year, Kishor said, “I have said it many times and I say it again — if they fulfil the promise I will give up my campaign.

    BETTIAH: Political strategist turned activist Prashant Kishor ruled out the possibility of contesting elections himself, but reiterated his pledge to build a “better alternative” for his home state of Bihar.

    Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he also lambasted JD(U) leaders for alleging that he was a “dhandhebaaz” (trader) with little political acumen, and challenged them to ask Chief Minister Nitish Kumar “why he had me put up at his residence for two years”.

    “Why would I contest polls? I have no such aspirations,” snapped the I-PAC founder on being asked repeatedly whether he planned to enter the electoral arena himself.

    He was speaking on the eve of the district convention, for West Champaran, scheduled on Sunday when people’s opinions will be sought as to whether the “Jan Suraaj” campaign should be made a political party.

    Kishor, who is on a 3,500-km-long “padayatra” of the state, said similar people’s polls will be held in all districts of the state based on which the next course of action will be decided.

    Kisor claimed Kumar will once again shower encomiums on him if he joins his “political enterprise”.

    “Since I have charted an independent course for myself, he and his lackeys are unhappy with me,” he said.

    “JD(U) leaders like to berate me. They should ask Nitish Kumar what was I doing at his residence for two years if I had no political understanding,” he added.

    ALSO READ | Friends turn foes: Prashant Kishor, RCP Singh slam CM over governance

    Replying to a query, Kishor said he did not repent for having worked with Kumar in the past.

    “There is a world of difference between what he (Kumar) was 10 years ago and what he is now. He had given up his chair in 2014 owning moral responsibility for his party’s drubbing in Lok Sabha polls. Now, he is willing to make any type of compromise to stay in power,” Kishor said.

    Mocking the grand alliance government’s promise of 10 lakh jobs a year, Kishor said, “I have said it many times and I say it again — if they fulfil the promise I will give up my campaign.

  • He talks ‘rubbish’: Nitish on PK’s claim that he may ditch Mahagathbandhan

    By PTI

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday refused to comment on the claim made by political strategist Prashant Kishor that the former was still in touch with the BJP and said “he keeps talking rubbish”.

    The political strategist on Thursday claimed that Kumar is “in touch with the BJP and he might once against tie up with the party if the situation demands”.

    “What should I say on this? He (Prashant) keeps talking rubbish. He makes such statements just for his publicity. Everybody knows that he is working for which party”, Kumar remarked in reply to questions from journalists who sought his views on Kishor’s claims that the CM is still in touch with the saffron party.

    Kishor had also told PTI on Wednesday that Kumar has kept a line of communication open with the BJP through JD (U) MP and Rajya Sabha deputy chairman, Harivansh.

    “After having snapped ties with the BJP, Nitish Kumar should have asked Harivansh to step down. If he insisted on occupying the post, he could have been expelled from the JD(U). But Nitish is having this arrangement to keep options open for the future,” Kishor on Wednesday had alleged at a public meeting in West Champaran district, where he has been for three weeks as part of a state-wide ‘padayatra’.

    The chief minister said, “Let him (Kishor) speak whatever he wants. We have nothing to do with him. Earlier, he used to work with me. It’s a fact that there are certain people whom I promoted, ditched me”.

    Commenting on phone calls made to Bihar DGP by a conman, who posing as a high court judge sought leniency towards a now-suspended IPS officer accused of links with liquor traders in the dry state, the chief minister said, “All the accused, except the IPS officer who is absconding, have been nabbed by the police. The DGP detected the case on time”.

    The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the state police sent the fraudster Abhishek Agarwal to jail on Thursday.

    He was arrested on the charges of cheating, impersonation, causing hindrance in government work, and cybercrime.

    When asked about the Patna High Court’s latest ruling that the civic polls in Bihar may be held, with seats reserved for Extremely Backward Classes, the CM said, “Bihar is the first state in the country where the government allowed reservation for extremely backward classes. We welcome this ruling of the Patna HC and the process will start very soon”.

    On Wednesday the High Court, which had on October 4 declared as illegal the quotas for extremely backward classes in the state’s urban local bodies, agreed to the state government’s plea that fresh polls, with reservations in place, be allowed after a report to the effect was obtained from a statutory commission set up for the very purpose.

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday refused to comment on the claim made by political strategist Prashant Kishor that the former was still in touch with the BJP and said “he keeps talking rubbish”.

    The political strategist on Thursday claimed that Kumar is “in touch with the BJP and he might once against tie up with the party if the situation demands”.

    “What should I say on this? He (Prashant) keeps talking rubbish. He makes such statements just for his publicity. Everybody knows that he is working for which party”, Kumar remarked in reply to questions from journalists who sought his views on Kishor’s claims that the CM is still in touch with the saffron party.

    Kishor had also told PTI on Wednesday that Kumar has kept a line of communication open with the BJP through JD (U) MP and Rajya Sabha deputy chairman, Harivansh.

    “After having snapped ties with the BJP, Nitish Kumar should have asked Harivansh to step down. If he insisted on occupying the post, he could have been expelled from the JD(U). But Nitish is having this arrangement to keep options open for the future,” Kishor on Wednesday had alleged at a public meeting in West Champaran district, where he has been for three weeks as part of a state-wide ‘padayatra’.

    The chief minister said, “Let him (Kishor) speak whatever he wants. We have nothing to do with him. Earlier, he used to work with me. It’s a fact that there are certain people whom I promoted, ditched me”.

    Commenting on phone calls made to Bihar DGP by a conman, who posing as a high court judge sought leniency towards a now-suspended IPS officer accused of links with liquor traders in the dry state, the chief minister said, “All the accused, except the IPS officer who is absconding, have been nabbed by the police. The DGP detected the case on time”.

    The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the state police sent the fraudster Abhishek Agarwal to jail on Thursday.

    He was arrested on the charges of cheating, impersonation, causing hindrance in government work, and cybercrime.

    When asked about the Patna High Court’s latest ruling that the civic polls in Bihar may be held, with seats reserved for Extremely Backward Classes, the CM said, “Bihar is the first state in the country where the government allowed reservation for extremely backward classes. We welcome this ruling of the Patna HC and the process will start very soon”.

    On Wednesday the High Court, which had on October 4 declared as illegal the quotas for extremely backward classes in the state’s urban local bodies, agreed to the state government’s plea that fresh polls, with reservations in place, be allowed after a report to the effect was obtained from a statutory commission set up for the very purpose.

  • Nitish Kumar asked me to lead his party, I refused: Prashant Kishor

    By PTI

    PATNA:  Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and claimed that he spurned a recent request by the latter to “lead” the Janata Dal (United).

    Kishor, who is on a 3,500-km-long ‘pada-yatra’ that would cover every nook and corner of the state, made the claim in a remote part of West Champaran district, about 275 km from Patna.

    “Nitish Kumar has been able to hold on to his chair and thinks he is very smart (‘mukhyamanti banke bahut hoshiyar ban rahe hain’),” said Kishor with uncharacteristic acerbity for a leader whom he has often called a father figure.

    “After losing the 2014 (Lok Sabha) polls, he met me in Delhi, begging for help. I assisted him in winning the 2015 assembly polls as the chief ministerial candidate of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’. Today, he has the temerity to offer ‘gyan’ (wisdom) to me,” added Kishor.

    The 45-year-old former national vice-president of JD(U) seems to have taken to heart Kumar’s recent dismissive averment that Kishor “did not know A, B and C” of Bihar’s politics, and the economy which he was promising to transform.

    “I am the son of a doctor, trying to work in my home state after having proven my mettle across the country,” the IPAC founder remarked, betraying indignation.

    “You all must have learnt through media reports that Nitish Kumar had called me to his residence about 10-15 days back. He asked me to lead his party. I said it is not possible. I cannot go back on the commitment I have made in return for any post,” said Kishor, who has launched a public awareness campaign called ‘Jan Suraaj’.

    Kishor was inducted into the JD(U) in 2018 by Kumar, who then headed the party, and got elevated to the national vice-president’s post within a few weeks.

    However, a squabble with Kumar over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens led to his expulsion from the party less than a couple of years later.

    JD(U) leaders did not immediately react to the latest utterances of Kishor, which came on a day when festivities and a Patna High Court order throwing municipal elections into jeopardy held their attention.

    However, Kishor’s outbursts came just a day after JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan had questioned the source of his funding.

    Kishor also amply demonstrated that he was miffed, saying, “those wanting to know from where I am getting the money should know that unlike them, I have not indulged in ‘dalaali’ (brokerage)”.

    “Politicians have for long been seeking my advice on how to win elections. Media has been full of praise for my track record as a political strategist. But never before have I asked anybody to lend me money,” he said.

    “But today I am seeking donations. This is the fee that I am charging towards building this movement which entails expenses like the tent we have put up here,” Kishor was heard as saying in the video footage shared on social media accounts of ‘Jan Suraaj’.

    PATNA:  Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and claimed that he spurned a recent request by the latter to “lead” the Janata Dal (United).

    Kishor, who is on a 3,500-km-long ‘pada-yatra’ that would cover every nook and corner of the state, made the claim in a remote part of West Champaran district, about 275 km from Patna.

    “Nitish Kumar has been able to hold on to his chair and thinks he is very smart (‘mukhyamanti banke bahut hoshiyar ban rahe hain’),” said Kishor with uncharacteristic acerbity for a leader whom he has often called a father figure.

    “After losing the 2014 (Lok Sabha) polls, he met me in Delhi, begging for help. I assisted him in winning the 2015 assembly polls as the chief ministerial candidate of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’. Today, he has the temerity to offer ‘gyan’ (wisdom) to me,” added Kishor.

    The 45-year-old former national vice-president of JD(U) seems to have taken to heart Kumar’s recent dismissive averment that Kishor “did not know A, B and C” of Bihar’s politics, and the economy which he was promising to transform.

    “I am the son of a doctor, trying to work in my home state after having proven my mettle across the country,” the IPAC founder remarked, betraying indignation.

    “You all must have learnt through media reports that Nitish Kumar had called me to his residence about 10-15 days back. He asked me to lead his party. I said it is not possible. I cannot go back on the commitment I have made in return for any post,” said Kishor, who has launched a public awareness campaign called ‘Jan Suraaj’.

    Kishor was inducted into the JD(U) in 2018 by Kumar, who then headed the party, and got elevated to the national vice-president’s post within a few weeks.

    However, a squabble with Kumar over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens led to his expulsion from the party less than a couple of years later.

    JD(U) leaders did not immediately react to the latest utterances of Kishor, which came on a day when festivities and a Patna High Court order throwing municipal elections into jeopardy held their attention.

    However, Kishor’s outbursts came just a day after JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan had questioned the source of his funding.

    Kishor also amply demonstrated that he was miffed, saying, “those wanting to know from where I am getting the money should know that unlike them, I have not indulged in ‘dalaali’ (brokerage)”.

    “Politicians have for long been seeking my advice on how to win elections. Media has been full of praise for my track record as a political strategist. But never before have I asked anybody to lend me money,” he said.

    “But today I am seeking donations. This is the fee that I am charging towards building this movement which entails expenses like the tent we have put up here,” Kishor was heard as saying in the video footage shared on social media accounts of ‘Jan Suraaj’.

  • Prashant Kishor working on behalf of BJP: JD(U)

    The JD(U)'s comment comes a day after state BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand issued a statement, calling Kishor a “political middleman” who had a “tacit understanding” with Nitish Kumar.

  • Need credible face to seek votes in 2024 LS polls, meeting leaders won’t make difference: Prashant Kishor

    By ANI

    PATNA: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Saturday said that there is a need for a “credible face” and mass movement to seek people’s vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and opined that meeting leaders of various political parties “would not make much of a difference”.

    He said such meetings cannot be seen as Opposition unity or political development. Kishor’s remarks came on the backdrop of his former ally Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s visit to the national capital recently to meet Opposition leaders.

    Speaking to ANI, Kishor who was earlier given the post of national president in Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and was later expelled from the party, said, “Such meetings and discussions taking place will not change the political situation on the ground. I do not have such an experience. He is more experienced than me. But I do not see the meeting of some leaders individually or collectively, holding discussions or press conferences, as an Opposition unity or a political development.”

    “Unless you create a people’s movement and generate a popular narrative, form a formidable entity, and a credible face that can make the public believe that he can be a better alternative to the BJP, only then they (people) will vote for you,” he said.

    When asked about the series of meetings undertaken by Kumar recently including with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao who had visited Bihar recently in his attempt to unite the Opposition, Kishor said that such meetings would not make “much of a difference”.

    “When he was with the BJP, he met the leaders who were with them. Now he is no more with the BJP, so he is meeting the parties and leaders who are in opposition of the BJP. That would not make much of a difference. You need a credible narrative, people’s trust, workers on the ground, and a trustworthy face and people’s movement for doing it,” he said.

    When asked who can be a better face of the Opposition among leaders such as Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and KCR, he said, “Right is the one who can unite everyone and is acceptable to all.”

    The polls strategist further dismissed the speculation of Nitish Kumar being disappointed with his former party leader. “Let him do what he wants to do in Bihar. His statements have no meaning. Does he know ABC of what has been done in the state since 2005?” Nitish Kumar had said.

    “Nitish Kumar is not pissed off with me. It is his way of speaking. I have a kindred relation with him. Who will take Nitish Kumar’s talks seriously? He himself was with the BJP until one month ago. He has been chief minister for more than two-thirds of his tenure as the chief minister in past 17 years. It is hilarious that he talks about who can be with the BJP. There is no need to give importance to it,” Prashant Kishor said.

    Talking about the Bharat Jodo Yatra taken out by Congress, Kishor said its focus is “disproportionately more in those states where the BJP is not a big political power.”He suggested that the yatra should have mostly covered the states where the BJP is a strong political force.

    “Looking at the route of the yatra, it seems that its aim is to unite the people or political activists against the work being done by the BJP or its ideology. The centre of the yatra should have been those states where the BJP is strong. The yatra is being carried out mostly in those states where the BJP is not a very strong political force. The focus of the yatra is disproportionately in those states where the BJP is not a big social and political power. I find there is a contradiction with the said aim of the yatra,” he said.

    Kishor noted that there is discontent among the public in Bihar even after Nitish Kumar parted ways with the BJP last month to rejoin the Mahagathbandhan, and said that this would be “reflected in the next elections”.

    “I see there are two sections in public. One which is furious and the other which is sad. I don’t see a big chunk of society where there is excitement about the work being done by the state government. Wherever I go, I find people complaining. The complaints that I hear about every day are bureaucracy and corruption. I don’t think the people are happy and that would be reflected in the next elections,” he said.The poll strategist predicted that the current formation which consists of seven political parties including Congress, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, JD(U) and the Left parties, will not remain the same in the next assembly elections.

    “The next assembly elections will not be held in this formation where there are seven parties on one side and there is BJP on the other. A lot of changes are due in it,” Kishor said. 

    PATNA: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Saturday said that there is a need for a “credible face” and mass movement to seek people’s vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and opined that meeting leaders of various political parties “would not make much of a difference”.

    He said such meetings cannot be seen as Opposition unity or political development. Kishor’s remarks came on the backdrop of his former ally Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s visit to the national capital recently to meet Opposition leaders.

    Speaking to ANI, Kishor who was earlier given the post of national president in Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and was later expelled from the party, said, “Such meetings and discussions taking place will not change the political situation on the ground. I do not have such an experience. He is more experienced than me. But I do not see the meeting of some leaders individually or collectively, holding discussions or press conferences, as an Opposition unity or a political development.”

    “Unless you create a people’s movement and generate a popular narrative, form a formidable entity, and a credible face that can make the public believe that he can be a better alternative to the BJP, only then they (people) will vote for you,” he said.

    When asked about the series of meetings undertaken by Kumar recently including with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao who had visited Bihar recently in his attempt to unite the Opposition, Kishor said that such meetings would not make “much of a difference”.

    “When he was with the BJP, he met the leaders who were with them. Now he is no more with the BJP, so he is meeting the parties and leaders who are in opposition of the BJP. That would not make much of a difference. You need a credible narrative, people’s trust, workers on the ground, and a trustworthy face and people’s movement for doing it,” he said.

    When asked who can be a better face of the Opposition among leaders such as Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and KCR, he said, “Right is the one who can unite everyone and is acceptable to all.”

    The polls strategist further dismissed the speculation of Nitish Kumar being disappointed with his former party leader. “Let him do what he wants to do in Bihar. His statements have no meaning. Does he know ABC of what has been done in the state since 2005?” Nitish Kumar had said.

    “Nitish Kumar is not pissed off with me. It is his way of speaking. I have a kindred relation with him. Who will take Nitish Kumar’s talks seriously? He himself was with the BJP until one month ago. He has been chief minister for more than two-thirds of his tenure as the chief minister in past 17 years. It is hilarious that he talks about who can be with the BJP. There is no need to give importance to it,” Prashant Kishor said.

    Talking about the Bharat Jodo Yatra taken out by Congress, Kishor said its focus is “disproportionately more in those states where the BJP is not a big political power.”He suggested that the yatra should have mostly covered the states where the BJP is a strong political force.

    “Looking at the route of the yatra, it seems that its aim is to unite the people or political activists against the work being done by the BJP or its ideology. The centre of the yatra should have been those states where the BJP is strong. The yatra is being carried out mostly in those states where the BJP is not a very strong political force. The focus of the yatra is disproportionately in those states where the BJP is not a big social and political power. I find there is a contradiction with the said aim of the yatra,” he said.

    Kishor noted that there is discontent among the public in Bihar even after Nitish Kumar parted ways with the BJP last month to rejoin the Mahagathbandhan, and said that this would be “reflected in the next elections”.

    “I see there are two sections in public. One which is furious and the other which is sad. I don’t see a big chunk of society where there is excitement about the work being done by the state government. Wherever I go, I find people complaining. The complaints that I hear about every day are bureaucracy and corruption. I don’t think the people are happy and that would be reflected in the next elections,” he said.The poll strategist predicted that the current formation which consists of seven political parties including Congress, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, JD(U) and the Left parties, will not remain the same in the next assembly elections.

    “The next assembly elections will not be held in this formation where there are seven parties on one side and there is BJP on the other. A lot of changes are due in it,” Kishor said. 

  • JD(U) and RJD alliance not to have much impact on national politics, says Prashant Kishor

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Noted poll strategist Prashant Kishor says that he does not see the political formation between JD-U and RJD having much impact on national politics ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

    Describing the realignment of the two Bihar parties as a ‘political arrangement’ for the second time in the past 10 years, Prashant Kishor alias PK told TNIE, in Patna, “This is the sixth instance of such political formation has been made by Nitish Kumar in past 10 years. I don’t see this ‘political formation’ having much impact on national politics as it has happened specifically to the state of Bihar.” 

    Further, he said, “Now, it is up to both Tejashwi Yadav and Nitish Kumar to come true to the expectation of people with whom the former had promised employment opportunities soon after the first cabinet of his government.”

    Kishor was once vice president of JD(U) and considered the closest to Nitish Kumar in JD(U) but he parted his ways from JD(U) when Kumar supported the BJP’s stand on NCR in Parliament.

    “There were many chances for Nitish Kumar when he was with BJP in past also to part his way. Why he did not do it then? Now it is to be seen whether or not the new government with RJD will function better than the previous which was with the BJP,” he remarked.

    On being asked about the longevity of the second-time political alliance of JD(U) with RJD for governance, PK said that, “Each time in the past six instances, every political formation had lasted hardly two years.”

    “One can analyse and predict this also from this fact,” he quipped.

    Prashant Kishor also hinted to float his political party before the 2025 assembly election in Bihar after completing Padyatra from October 2  under the campaign of ‘Jan-Suraj’, which started in Bihar.

    NEW DELHI: Noted poll strategist Prashant Kishor says that he does not see the political formation between JD-U and RJD having much impact on national politics ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

    Describing the realignment of the two Bihar parties as a ‘political arrangement’ for the second time in the past 10 years, Prashant Kishor alias PK told TNIE, in Patna, “This is the sixth instance of such political formation has been made by Nitish Kumar in past 10 years. I don’t see this ‘political formation’ having much impact on national politics as it has happened specifically to the state of Bihar.” 

    Further, he said, “Now, it is up to both Tejashwi Yadav and Nitish Kumar to come true to the expectation of people with whom the former had promised employment opportunities soon after the first cabinet of his government.”

    Kishor was once vice president of JD(U) and considered the closest to Nitish Kumar in JD(U) but he parted his ways from JD(U) when Kumar supported the BJP’s stand on NCR in Parliament.

    “There were many chances for Nitish Kumar when he was with BJP in past also to part his way. Why he did not do it then? Now it is to be seen whether or not the new government with RJD will function better than the previous which was with the BJP,” he remarked.

    On being asked about the longevity of the second-time political alliance of JD(U) with RJD for governance, PK said that, “Each time in the past six instances, every political formation had lasted hardly two years.”

    “One can analyse and predict this also from this fact,” he quipped.

    Prashant Kishor also hinted to float his political party before the 2025 assembly election in Bihar after completing Padyatra from October 2  under the campaign of ‘Jan-Suraj’, which started in Bihar.

  • Nitish was uncomfortable with BJP, claims Prashan Kishor

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Wednesday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was not comfortable in the alliance with the BJP and that is why he moved from one political formation to the other.

    Kishor, once considered a close confidant of Kumar, said the impact of the political developments in Bihar will remain limited to the state at present. “They were unlikely to have an impact on the national level in the short-run,” he said.

    “From 2017 to 2022, he was with the BJP. But I never found him comfortable because of many reasons. He may have thought that let us experiment with Mahagatbandhan,” Kishor told television news channels in Patna.

    On reports that Kumar harbours prime ministerial ambitions, Kishor insisted the developments were strictly “Bihar-centric”. He said Bihar has seen six experiments in government formation since 2012-13 and Nitish Kumar has been a constant as the chief minister.

    “Since 2012-13, this is the sixth experiment as far as government formation is concerned. In all these six experiments, Nitish Kumar has remained the Chief Minister. And there has been no change in the situation in Bihar. I hope that the new government will do something good,” Kishor told Republic TV.

    Kishor told CNN News 18 that it will have to be seen whether the new government performs or not as the RJD and JD(U) have contradicting stances on a number of issues, including corruption.

    NEW DELHI: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Wednesday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was not comfortable in the alliance with the BJP and that is why he moved from one political formation to the other.

    Kishor, once considered a close confidant of Kumar, said the impact of the political developments in Bihar will remain limited to the state at present. “They were unlikely to have an impact on the national level in the short-run,” he said.

    “From 2017 to 2022, he was with the BJP. But I never found him comfortable because of many reasons. He may have thought that let us experiment with Mahagatbandhan,” Kishor told television news channels in Patna.

    On reports that Kumar harbours prime ministerial ambitions, Kishor insisted the developments were strictly “Bihar-centric”. He said Bihar has seen six experiments in government formation since 2012-13 and Nitish Kumar has been a constant as the chief minister.

    “Since 2012-13, this is the sixth experiment as far as government formation is concerned. In all these six experiments, Nitish Kumar has remained the Chief Minister. And there has been no change in the situation in Bihar. I hope that the new government will do something good,” Kishor told Republic TV.

    Kishor told CNN News 18 that it will have to be seen whether the new government performs or not as the RJD and JD(U) have contradicting stances on a number of issues, including corruption.

  • Prashant Kishor taunts CM Nitish Kumar on road conditions of Bihar

    By PTI

    PATNA: ‘Jan Suraaj’ campaign convenor Prashant Kishor on Thursday sought to puncture his former mentor Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s claims of having given a face-lift to the state’s roads.

    Kishor, who is touring the state as a spade-work for full-time launch into politics, shared on his Twitter handle an image of a national highway passing through Madhubani district which, he said, reminded him of the “jungle raj of 1990s”. “Nitish ji had recently told officials of road construction department that they must tell the people about the condition of roads in the state”, Kishor tweeted, with barely concealed sarcasm.

    90 के दशक के जंगलराज में बिहार में सड़कों की स्थिति की याद दिलाता यह बिहार के मधुबनी जिले का नेशनल हाईवे 227 (L) है।अभी हाल में ही #Nitishkumar जी एक कार्यक्रम में पथ निर्माण विभाग के लोगों को बोल रहे थे कि बिहार में सड़कों की अच्छी स्थिति के बारे में उन्हें सबको बताना चाहिए। pic.twitter.com/Qp0ehEluty
    — Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) June 23, 2022
    “Jungle raj of 1990s” was a reference to the husband-wife duo Lalu Prasad and RJD who together ruled Bihar for 15 years until the defeat of their RJD by the NDA headed by Kumar in 2005. Lawlessness and abysmal state of roads were the two primary counts on which the RJD faced criticism.

    Kishor, who had helped the Lalu-Nitish alliance clinch a victory in the 2015 assembly polls and formally joined the JDU, then headed by Kumar, as his number two a couple of years later, now feels that the two leaders have let the state down.

    Having given up his career which gave him the opportunity to rub shoulders with the who’s who of Indian politics, Kishor has come out with the promise of transformational, bottom-up politics in his home state.

    Although no reaction came from the state’s ruling dispensation on Kishor’s tweet, the Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways reacted to a newspaper report that the IPAC founder had shared. “The work on NH mentioned in the article will be done by NHAI. However, the road is yet to be handed over by the State Govt. The work on the said project will begin in two weeks,” the ministry tweeted.

    Incidentally, Kishor had shot to fame after handing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stupendously successful election campaign of 2014 which saw the then Gujarat Chief Minister steering the BJP to a resounding majority in the Lok Sabha.

  • Prashant Kishor predicts poll loss for Congress in Gujarat and Himachal

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI: After failed negotiations with the Congress, political strategist Prashant Kishor on Friday commented on the just concluded ‘Chintan Shivir’ of the party and said it achieved nothing but status-quo and gave it ‘some time till the impending loss in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh’.

    “I’ve been repeatedly asked to comment on the outcome of #UdaipurChintanShivir In my view, it failed to achieve anything meaningful other than prolonging the status-quo and giving some time to the #Congress leadership, at least till the impending electoral rout in Gujarat and HP!”

    The Congress has announced ‘Bharat Jodo march’, reserving posts to people under 50 years of age and giving representation to the marginalised sections. The Congress and Prashant Kishor parted ways in April after hectic parleys for two weeks.

    Sources in Congress said that Kishor wanted sweeping powers and a free hand in the election management, but the party wanted a group of leaders to oversee the 2024 general elections.

    Several Congress leaders were reported of the opinion that no consultant should get the power to run the whole show.

    Sources said since the working style of the Congress is different and the party cannot be run from a single window, Sonia Gandhi had invited Kishor to join the Empowered Action Group for the 2024 polls.

    The sources also indicated that Rahul Gandhi was also not keen to give sweeping powers to one person.

    After declining the Congress’ offer to join the party, Kishor had said that the party needs ‘leadership’ and ‘collective will’ to fix deep-rooted structural problems.

    “I declined the generous offer of #Congress to join the party as part of the EAG & take responsibility for the elections,” Kishor tweeted.

    “In my humble opinion, more than me, the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms,” he added.