E-Paper
Political circles abuzz after Nitish meets Prashant Kishor
Prashant Kishor, who was expelled from the JD (U) for his anti-party stance in 2020, met with Nitish Kumar for close to two hours at the chief minister’s official residence in the capital.
Two years after being sacked from the Janata Dal (United), political strategist Prashant Kishor’s meeting with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in New Delhi on Friday night has set tongues wagging in political circles.
Kishor, who was expelled from the JD (U) for his anti-party stance in 2020, met with Kumar for close to two hours at the chief minister’s official residence in the capital.
Both Kishor and Kumar called it a courtesy meeting.
“I met Nitish Kumar to enquire about his health as he was infected with Covid last month. When he was down with Covid, Nitish Ji had called me to enquire about my health. During Covid, we had discussed meeting in Delhi,” the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) founder Kishor told Hindustan Times. “Moreover, I have lived at his house for two years.”
Kumar, while talking to media persons in New Delhi on Saturday, said that no political meaning should be construed from the meeting. “I have an old association with Prashant Kishor, and not much should be read into the meeting,” he said.
However, JD(U) leaders said that the meeting was held behind closed doors with only the two leaders in attendance. The talks between Kishor and Kumar assume significance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and took place at a time when his future with Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is the subject of fierce speculation.
It is highly probable that the two might have held discussions of the Third Front, a JD(U) functionary said on condition of anonymity. “Prashant Kishore ji has been talking of a Front to counter Congress and the BJP,” he said.
With the Lok Sabha elections two years away, Kishor could be in the scheme of things for the JD (U) as “everything is not that cosy between the bharatiya Janata Party and JD (U)”, another JD(U) leader said, also declining to be named.
Kumar, JD(U) leaders said, has used the meeting to give BJP a message, which of late has been openly critical of him on a range of subjects.
Kishor, who earned a name after Mamata Banerjee’s win in West Bengal, has been proactive in efforts to rally opposition forces against the BJP - Nitish Kumar’s ally - for the 2024 national election.
In recent times, Kishor has talked about his cordial relations with Kumar and has named him as one of the few people with whom he would like to reconnect.
The election strategist has worked with Kumar during the 2015 Bihar assembly elections and helped the Grand Alliance retain power in Bihar.
