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Tag: Prashant Kishor

  • ‘PM ignored COVID crisis to hide his lack of foresightedness’: Prashant Kishor hits out at Modi

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor who is looking after the Trinamool Congress’ election strategy in West Bengal on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ignoring the COVID-19 crisis to hide his lack of understanding and foresightedness.

    Kishor’s statement came after Modi addressed the nation on the coronavirus situation amid a surge in cases.

    He also alleged that the prime minister bluffed people to claim victory in the battle against the pandemic.

    “ModiGovt handling of crisis: #1: ignore problem to hide lack of understanding & foresightedness #2: suddenly take control, use bluff & bluster to claim victory #3: if problem persists, pass it on to others #4: when situation improves, return with Bhakts’ army to take credit,” Kishor tweeted.

    An eight-phase assembly election is being held in West Bengal between March 27 and April 29 and votes will be counted on May 2.

  • Prashant Kishor audio chat leak: Poll strategist claims BJP will not cross 100 seats in West Bengal

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Reacting to his leaked ‘Club House room’ audio chat, Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Saturday reiterated that BJP will not cross 100 seats in West Bengal Assembly elections while adding that the BJP should show courage by sharing the full chat instead of selective part.

    “I am glad BJP is taking my chat more seriously than the words of their own leaders! They should show courage and share the full chat instead of getting excited with the selective use of parts of it. I have said this before and repeating again – BJP will not CROSS 100 in West Bengal,” tweeted Kishor.

    An audio chat of ‘Club House room’ involving Prashant Kishor and a few journalists was leaked on social media. “There is no anti-incumbency against Modi. Modi has become a cult in the country. Modi is popular in Bengal. The Hindi speaking people is the core support base of BJP in Bengal. Modi is very popular here. Modi and Mamata are equally popular in Bengal,” Kishore said in that conversation.

    “When we made a survey and asked people whose government will be formed in Bengal. The outcomes predominantly come in favour of the BJP. The majority says BJP’s government will be formed. There are sufficient workers of BJP on the ground. If we leave one or two districts, everywhere there are strong cadets of BJP,” added Kishor.

    “Suvendu is not a factor. Hindus, schedule caste, Dalit and Hindi speaking population are the key factors. Around 50-55 per cent of Hindus are voting for BJP. There are around one crore Hindi speaking population in West Bengal. Matuas will predominantly vote for the BJP. When we made a survey and asked people whose government will be formed in Bengal. The outcomes predominantly come in favour of the BJP. In-ground there are workers of BJP,” explained Kishor.

    He further said the parties like Congress, Left and TMC has been practising appeasement politics in West Bengal. “For the last 20 years, there has been a blatant effort to appease the minority. The entire political ecosystem in Bengal be it Left, Congress or Didi have been to grab the Muslim votes. There is some element that BJP is exploiting. And that element is coming from the blatant misuse of minority politics,” he stated.

    The election strategist was roped in by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led TMC for the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021.

    The election strategist was roped in by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led TMC for the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2021 and had indicated in the past that he will quit the space if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) performs any better in the state than his prediction.

    As a political strategist, Kishor worked with many parties to win the elections. He helped Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar to win the Assembly polls in 2015. Following this, Kumar appointed Kishor as the vice president of JDU.

    However, Kishor was expelled from JDU in January 2020 over his disagreement with the party on the issue of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Recently he has been appointed as the Principal Advisor by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls in the state.

    Last year, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin had announced his party’s collaboration with Prashant Kishor’s poll strategy group Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) for the 2021 Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu.

    Voting for 44 constituencies in West Bengal’s fourth phase Assembly elections began at 7 am on Saturday amid tight security. This phase of the elections will witness an intense battle between 373 candidates in 44 constituencies of the state across five districts – Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly.

    Among the 44 constituencies, nine are in Howrah, 10 in Hooghly, 11 in South 24 Parganas, five in Alipurduar and nine in Cooch Behar. A total of 1,15,81,022 voters will participate in this phase, out of which 2,63,016 are first-time voters.

    The fifth phase of the Assembly elections will commence on April 17. Counting of votes will take place on May 2.

  • BJP releases Prashant Kishor’s audio clip purportedly saying ‘PM Modi, Mamata equally popular’

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: A controversy emerged on Saturday, the day election is being held in 44 Assembly constituencies, after BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya released an audio clip where Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee’s ekection strategist Prashant Kishor is purportedly heard saying “PM Modi, Mamata equally popular” as far as Bengal’s poll related issues are concerned.

    Taking on Twitter, Kishor, however, said the BJP highlighted selective part of his chat and reiterated claiming that the saffron camp would not get more than 100 seats.

    I am glad BJP is taking my chat more seriously than words of their own leaders!They should show courage & share the full chat instead of getting excited with selective use of parts of it.I have said this before & repeating again – BJP will not to CROSS 100 in WB. Period.
    — Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) April 10, 2021

    “It is open? That momnt when Mamata Banerjee’s strategist realised that the Club House room was open and his admission were being heard by the public at large and not just a handful of Lutyens journalists. Deafening silence followed…TMC’s election was just thrown away.”

    In a quick reaction to the purported audio clip, Kishor tweeted, “Glad BJP’s taking my clubhouse chats more seriously than the words of its leaders. They should show courage & share the full chat instead of getting excited with selective use of parts of it. I have said this before & repeating again—BJP will not CROSS 100 in WB.”

  • Kishor and team likely to camp in Punjab from May for polls next year

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH:  Almost a year ahead of the assembly polls in Punjab, election strategist Prashant Kishor, who was appointed principal advisor to CM Amarinder Singh, is likely to stay in the state from May with his team. 

    Kishor and his team will take feedback from the general public about the performance of the government and is likely to prepare a report card of the last five years of the ruling party MLAs. 

    Amarinder SinghSources said a few days ago, Kishor met first-time MLAs of the ruling Congress and also senior party legislators.

    They reportedly told him that the bureaucracy was running the government. 

    Kishor has reportedly started taking feedback from district-level officers with whom the people are dissatisfied.

    It is believed that the poll strategist would like former cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu to play a vital role. Sidhu has been out of the picture for some time now.

    He recently met Amarinder at his farm house over tea, said sources. Sources said Amarinder has deputed his political secretary Sandeep Singh Sandhu and his grandson Nirvan Singh to coordinate with Kishor, who lives in the bungalow next to the Chief Minister’s residence.

    An IAS officer has also been told to coordinate with the poll strategist. Sources said Kishor’s team is likely to be bigger than the 2017 team, in which about 250 persons worked for him.  

  • ‘Prashant Kishor has left Mamata to join Amarinder’: BJP takes dig at poll strategist

    Kishor is working as a key strategist for the ruling TMC in West Bengal, with the state set to witness an eight-phase Assembly election starting March 27.

  • Punjab CM Amarinder Singh says Prashant Kishor has joined him as principal advisor

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Monday said poll-strategist Prashant Kishor has joined him as his principal advisor.

    “Happy to share that @PrashantKishor has joined me as my Principal Advisor. Look forward to working together for the betterment of the people of Punjab!” Singh said in a tweet.

    Kishor had handled the Congress party’s poll campaign in Punjab in the 2017 assembly elections.

    Currently, Kishor’s company, Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), is assisting Mamata Banerjee’s TMC in West Bengal elections.

    Kishor had also managed Narendra Modi’s campaign for prime ministership in 2014 general elections.

  • On 2nd May, hold me to my last tweet: Prashant Kishor calls Bengal polls ‘key battle for democracy’

    By Agencies
    Election strategist Prashant Kishor took to Twitter on Saturday to call the West Bengal elections ‘a key battle for democracy.’

    His tweet comes a day after the Election Commission released the dates for the assembly polls in four states, including West Bengal, and a Union Territory.

    A confident Kishor, tweeted “One of the key battles FOR DEMOCRACY in India will be fought in West Bengal, and the people of Bengal are ready with their MESSAGE and determined to show the RIGHT CARD – #BanglaNijerMeyekeiChay (Bengal Only Wants its Own Daughter) PS: On 2nd May, hold me to my last tweet.”

    Prashant Kishor’s company, Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), is assisting Mamata Banerjee’s TMC in formulating a strategy to stop the BJP from coming to power in West Bengal.

    West Bengal elections will be held in eight phases between March 27 and April 29 for 294 constituencies. The counting of votes will take place on May 2, along with that of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

    One of the key battles FOR DEMOCRACY in India will be fought in West Bengal, and the people of Bengal are ready with their MESSAGE and determined to show the RIGHT CARD – #BanglaNijerMeyekeiChay(Bengal Only Wants its Own Daughter)PS: On 2nd May, hold me to my last tweet. pic.twitter.com/vruk6jVP0X
    — Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) February 27, 2021

    The unprecedented eight-phase elections have evoked strong reactions including from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. 

    “With all due respect to the Election Commission, I want to say that questions are being raised on why elections will be held in so many phases in Bengal while other states will be voting in one phase. If EC doesn’t provide justice to the people, where will the people go,” said Mamata Banerjee.

    BJP national secretary Kailash Vijayvarghia, however, welcomed the eight- phase elections in West Bengal and said that it was imperative to conduct fair polls.

    Kishor had also managed Narendra Modi’s campaign for prime ministership in 2014 general elections.

    (Inputs from ENS, PTI) 

  • Part of Prashant Kishor’s house in Bihar demolished for road widening project

    By PTI
    BUXAR: A portion of political strategist Prashant Kishors paternal residence here was on Saturday pulled down by the authorities who said the razed part of the property fell on land acquired for the widening of a national highway.

    The house was built by Shrikant Pandey, late father of the former key aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with whom Kishor had burnt his bridges last year leading to his expulsion from the JD(U) in which he held the post of national vice-president.

    KK Upadhyay, the sub divisional magistrate who supervised the demolition, said the razed gate and part of the boundary wall was on the land which has been acquired for widening of NH-84.

    He said the administration was removing all property situated on the land acquired.

    In some instances the owners themselves are doing the needful, but Kishors house has been empty for quite some time so we had to bring in our machines.

    He said the district administration has already announced compensation to all those whose land has been acquired and it will be handed over to the respective owners in due course.

    The SDM disclosed that a temple of Lord Brahma in the vicinity has also been shifted for the road widening project and was met with some resentment from the locals.

    Some people had raised an objection that the temple was being moved but property belonging to private persons was not being touched because they happened to be influential and well-connected.

    Hopefully, they are satisfied with the impartiality of the administrative action, he told PTI over phone.