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Assembly polls in Bihar unlikely amid Covid-19, says Prashant Kishor
Prashant Kishor said that Bihar was yet to get Covid-19 pandemic could worsen in the days to come.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has scaled down the activities of I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee) in Patna and has said that the prospects of assembly elections in Bihar have dimmed.
Amid speculation that he could wind up from Bihar due to lack of takers, unlike 2015 elections when he was much in demand in the Grand Alliance (GA) and worked closely with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Kishor said he was not in Bihar with any short-term goal of fighting election and there was no question of winding up activities here, though it had been scaled down due to pandemic.
“But yes, I do see a fast diminishing prospect of a timely assembly election in Bihar. I am of firm opinion that elections will not be held due to the worsening situation in the state. It should not be held and it would not be held, as the situation in Bihar mandates the entire focus to be on Covid-19 management and control,” he said.
Kishor said it was just not feasible to ask seven crore voters to move out of their homes and vote when the Covid-19 situation would be at its peak in the state. The elections are scheduled in October-November.
Bihar’s Covid-19 tally stands at 45,919. In the last 24 hours, the state reported 2,328 fresh cases. The state is also battling floods at many places.
Kishor warned that the Covid pandemic could get worse in the days to come. “I have nothing to do with elections in Bihar this time, as I will not be participating in it, but any attempt to hold elections in the midst of a pandemic would have catastrophic consequences. Political parties have seen the result of virtual rallies,” he added.
He said that when the Election Commission (EC) was finding it difficult even to hold by-elections for a few seats, expecting an assembly election involving the entire state was highly unlikely. “Since March, no election has been held in the country. The theory of postal ballot was also floated, but the EC has rejected that also,” he added.
Kishor said that the I-PAC had enough work across the country and in Bihar it has a long-term vision. “We are engaged in the making of CMs in six states, but in Bihar we are with no political party or alliance. We have our set up of I-PAC in Patna and that will continue. The response of ‘Baat Bihar Ki’ is for anyone to see, but this is not the time to take the risk of virtual campaigning as BJP and JD-U risked,” he added.
In February during his first interaction with the media in Patna after his expulsion from the JD-U, Kishor had said that he was not there to get any alliance win or lose elections.
“I will work to prepare youth who could take Bihar forward, those who had dreamt to change it to be among the top-10 states in the next 10 years. I have a long-term and medium-term plan, starting with ‘Baat Bihar ki’ on February 20, a programme to involve 1,000 committed youth from across the state,” he had added.
