Flutter in Bihar as Prashant Kishor ‘turns a page’ on Twitter

Political strategist Prashant Kishor on Monday said it was the time to go to the real masters, the people, prompting speculation about his next political move.

Political strategist Prashant Kishor on Monday said it was the time to go to the real masters, the people, prompting speculation about his next political move.

Political strategist Prashant Kishor. (PTI)

In Bihar, speculation is rife that he would be floating a new political outfit, which he will announce on May 5.

“My quest to be a meaningful participant in democracy and help shape pro-people policy led to a roller-coaster ride! As I turn the page, time to go to the Real Masters, THE PEOPLE, to better understand the issues and the path to Jan Suraaj – people’s good governance”, Kishor tweeted, adding the hashtag “shuruat Bihar se” (Beginning from Bihar).

Kishor, who is in Patna and was scheduled to meet chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday evening, told HT that “I could not go [and meet Kumar]. It could have been misinterpreted.”

Kishor, who has previously worked with various parties, including the BJP and the Trinamool Congress, was expelled from Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) in January 2020 for criticising the party’s stand over the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Kishor, who last week turned down an offer to join Congress, held discussions with political leaders and parties on Monday.

His arrival in Bihar comes amid voices of discord within ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents Janata Dal (United) or JD (U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Kishor’s tweet, meanwhile, has left not political experts impressed.

“Till now, he was working for political parties and now he wants to own one. Everybody has the freedom to form a party. But I don’t see Bihar changing and people starting to follow him. New party cannot bring a political upheaval in Bihar,” said D M Diwakar, former director of A N Sinha Institute for Social Studies. “The political understanding and awareness of Bihar’s people is different. Caste and religion are the main planks for a party. And he may like to do issue-based politics, which will not help him immediately,” he said.

“Only in last assembly elections, newly founded Plurals Party did not get any success. Bihar has so far seen caste-based and reservation politics and PK will have to look for another stream,” said Gyanendra Yadav, associate professor of Sociology, College of Commerce, Patna.

BJP was unsparing.

“Prashant Kishor is neither a social scientist nor a political scientist. He is a power broker and a middleman,” said state BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand.

JD(U), for which Kishor has worked in the past, was more guarded. “He has been directly or indirectly involved in politics for a decade now. Everybody has the freedom to form an organization. Some time back, he tried to mobilize youths but nothing concrete came out,” said senior party leader Upendra Kushwaha.

Soon after his ouster from JD(U) in 2020, Kishor launched an independent project “Baat Bihar Ki” (Conversation about Bihar) in February 2020, which couldn’t quite take off.

The project also ran into rough weather after one of Kishor’s former associates lodged an FIR accusing him of intellectual property rights violation.