Prasant Kishore pauses foot march for 2-3 weeks on medical advice

Prashant Kishor started his foot march on October 2 last year from West Champaran district in an effort to connect with people in rural areas

NEW DELHI: Election strategist Prashant Kishor, who has been on a foot march in Bihar for the past seven months, on Monday said he was going to take a break on medical advice following a muscle tear in his left. Kishor, who was to continue his padyatra in Samastipur, had been putting off the yatra for the last two days.

Election strategist Prashant Kishor greets an elderly woman during the 'Jan Suraj Padayatra', in Vaishalii. (ANI File Photo)

“I developed some problems in walking in Vaishali and consulted doctors… The doctors told me that it was a muscle tear due to walking on uneven surfaces. I continued after some relief with medication, but in Samastipur, it recurred and the doctors have advised that I rest for at least two weeks. Therefore, I have to stop here, but the next leg of the yatra will start from the same place and in the same format,” he said.

A key member of his team said the foot march was tentatively expected to resume on June 11 from Morwa.

Prashant Kishor started his foot march on October 2 last year from West Champaran district in an effort to connect with people in rural areas and understand their problems. During the march, he urged people to vote based on the issues affecting their communities rather than on caste or religion.

Kishor said some people had advised him to use a vehicle to some extent but he was reluctant.

“I have walked so far and I have to walk for another year or more. I will do that as soon as I recover, touching people and places in the remotest corners of Bihar to feel their pain and pulse. I have been walking an average of 20-25km a day and that will continue hopefully from the second week of June,” he added.

Kishor hasn’t so far announced the formation of a political party but it is widely expected to be on his bucket list that he will focus on after completing the statewide foot march.

Prashant Kishor has said that setting up a political party may be “a by-product of this yatra but that will be a decision of the people cutting across all sections of the society, not me alone”.

“So far, the yatra is not political. Forming yet another party without voter awareness and behaviour reflecting social concerns is not my objective. I am trying to make voters understand the importance of political accountability so that they are actively, and not passively involved in the decision-making process,” he added.