Bihar is not new territory for Prashant Kishor, but the strategist and soon-to-be politician is certainly in unknown waters where the ups and downs of caste politics decide electoral fate.
Leaders like Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav have fished well in these waters for the past 30 years, and PK, as it is known in teenage political circles, understands this all too well.
After declaring Bihar as his battleground, the political strategist traveled 3,000 km. ready to go the distance hiking Starting from Gandhi Ashram in West Champaran to form a political party to meet people from different sections of the society and their response is positive.
Political pundits in Bihar, who have been closely watching PK’s work since 2015, quickly speculate that he is trying to buy time ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 2025 Bihar elections.
This time frame should be sufficient for Kishor to assess deeply the mood and caste compositions of the people who form or break governments in the state.
For now, Kishor is on a solo hunt, keeping an equal distance from both Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar. He has taken care not to dismiss the work done by Nitish Kumar, who is called ‘Vikas Purush’ in Bihar. He says that under Lalu’s rule, Dalits and poor were empowered and Nitish did the overall development of Bihar.
So how does Kishor plan to challenge the status quo? There is likely to be a pitch for change and a promise to see Bihar in the list of developed states. But it requires staunch political acumen and long-term commitment.
Those who are aware of the in-camera meeting with Kishor say that Kishor has no problem as the IPAC founder has been in it for a long time. But Kishor has not yet cemented his image as a politician.
His only political stint so far has been with the ruling JD(U), but he developed sharp differences with Nitish Kumar over the issues of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), both of which have been hit hard by ally BJP. Worked hard
In JD(U), Kishor could not shape his image as a party leader and due to lack of opportunities. His attempt to join the Congress also failed as the party reportedly did not respond favorably to his demand for a senior post.
Kishor hails from an upper caste family from Bihar and is ready to start from scratch, but doesn’t have the practical experience of building a party or engineering movement like Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party.
The last time a mass movement emerged in Bihar was in 1974 when Jai Prakash Narayan’s Agitation gave a tough challenge to Indira Gandhi. Lalu and Nitish are by-products of that movement and they have learned lessons from that era in their successful political career.
But what Kishor is doing for himself is timing. Ram Vilas Paswan is no more, Lalu is battling health issues and Nitish is nearing the final stage of his career. Promising a new Bihar, Kishor is trying to woo 58% of the young voters in the state—and it will be a three-way fight for that promise if it comes to whether Kishor is going to vote for RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav or a resurgent BJP. Can’t afford to give discount.
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