In an interview to 바카라, strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, popularly known as PK, shares his gameplan for the upcoming state elections
Former election strategist Prashant Kishor was always sure about one thing—the flag of his political party will have Bhimrao Ambedkar along with Mahatma Gandhi. When he launched his party on October 2, 2024, he said Jan Suraaj will contest all 243 seats in Bihar elections. He is attempting to convert a caste-based election into a class-based one. He라이브 바카라 been highlighting the lack of development in the last 35 years under Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Bihar election is PK라이브 바카라 most significant battle. And it comes with many challenges. Critics and rivals allege he is the Bharatiya Janata Party라이브 바카라 B-team, working hand-in-glove with the party and only contesting polls to split the Opposition vote.
PK claims that the Bihar Assembly election contest will be triangular. The massive turnout at his rallies has become a warning signal for many political parties—especially since Jan Suraaj appears to be focusing on the Muslim and women vote. He says, change is inevitable. Nitish Kumar will not become Chief Minister again under any circumstances. And if Jan Suraaj forms the government, it will stop migration within a year and lift the liquor ban within minutes. But there라이브 바카라 also the recurring question: Is Prashant Kishor the BJP라이브 바카라 B-team? Edited excerpts from the interview.
What made you shift from forming electoral strategies for other parties to starting your own party?
I am still doing the same work. Earlier, I used to advise other groups, leaders and political parties on how to contest elections in a better way, now I am giving suggestions to the people of Bihar. The only difference is that instead of helping an established party, I’ve brought like-minded people together to form a new party—Jan Suraaj.
What made you shift from forming electoral strategies for other parties to starting your own party?
I am still doing the same work. Earlier, I used to advise other groups, leaders and political parties on how to contest elections in a better way, now I am giving suggestions to the people of Bihar. The only difference is that instead of helping an established party, I’ve brought like-minded people together to form a new party—Jan Suraaj.
How are the preparations for the Bihar elections going on?
We still have time. I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with people since forming the party, but we are starting that process now. We are launching a large-scale public outreach campaign from April 20 which will help us know the pulse of people. One thing is clear—Bihar wants change. Irrespective of whether these voters have been loyal to the RJD, the JD(U), or the BJP, they are looking for change. It remains to be seen which party stands to gain from this. In Bihar, the whole fight is about which party Bihar trusts the more.
Bihar has mostly seen coalition governments for the past 30 years. It라이브 바카라 been less than a year since you entered the political arena and you have been claiming that you could form the government on your own. What makes you say that?
In 1985, the Congress formed a majority government here. Lalu Yadav got this opportunity in 1995. Nitish Kumar came close in 2010 with 117 seats. So, there have been three such elections where a single party got the majority. Our vote bank consists of people who are tired of caste and religion-based politics and of the Lalu-Nitish binary. These are the people who don’t want their children to be ashamed of being Biharis, who want education and jobs and are tired of forced migration. In short, our vote bank is the aspirational class, who wants to see Bihar at par with other states.
Is this aspirational class large enough to spin the elections in your favour?
Yes, absolutely. Bihar may have lagged behind on the development parameter but, at the same time, there is a large section that라이브 바카라 aspirational. Around five million people from Bihar work in states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, or Tamil Nadu. They see how developed these states are while their own state is so backward. Our primary vote bank is this category. The second category is women, who have been suffering for long because of migration. If we manage to form the government, we will take steps to stop migration within a year.
You have announced plans to give tickets to 40 Muslims. Comparisons are being drawn to Ram Vilas Paswan, who talked about a Muslim chief minister in 2005. That move backfired and the RJD was out of power. Will the RJD be kept away from power this time by Prashant Kishor and others?.
We are planning to give 70 seats to the most backward and 40 to women. It is written in Jan Suraaj라이브 바카라 ideology that each community should have a representation proportional to its population. As for the RJD, a study of the Yadav-Muslim equation shows that that party fields its Yadav candidates even in Muslim-dominated areas and these Muslim votes get transferred to it. They have done nothing for Muslim development or representation in 35 years. Now, the Muslims are seeing an option in the Jan Suraaj party, and the RJD is panicking. They are trying to convince their Muslim voters that voting for Jan Suraaj would mean splitting of Muslim votes.
Our argument is, if there are 80,000 Muslims in a constituency, why should a candidate be a Yadav or Kushwaha or Brahmin? Why shouldn’t the candidate be a Muslim? On the basis of the population of Muslims, they should get 40 seats. If the RJD really wants to fight against the BJP and give representation to Muslims, our party will not give tickets to Muslim candidates in places where they are fielding Muslim candidates. We have already announced that. But I doubt if giving representation to Muslims is their priority. The fact is that their “lalten” has been burning for years thanks to the Muslim electorate
Jan Suraaj is focused on Muslims and women. If your party forms the government, will you make a Muslim or a woman candidate the chief minister?
No. We don’t make such claims. But yes, representation in party posts, tickets, and eventually in the government will be proportional to the population of each section. We have released a detailed roadmap. General category, OBC, extremely backward, Dalits, and Muslims—all will get fair representation.
It is believed that prohibition is in the interest of women. You talk about women empowerment, yet you say you will lift prohibition if you come to power. Isn’t that contradictory?
The government spread the myth that prohibition empowers women. In fact, prohibition is harming everyone in Bihar, including women. There is no prohibition in Bihar. Legally, only the shops are shut, alcohol is freely consumed in all households. Irrespective of whether we win or not, it라이브 바카라 a fact that prohibition should be lifted because there no proof that it benefits any community. The state is suffering a loss of Rs 15-20,000 crore because of prohibition and it has led to the increased use of narcotics in villages. There is no improvement in the law-and-order situation. Nearly 1.25 lakh people, mostly poor, backward and Dalits, are behind bars because of prohibition and women are suffering. Only corrupt leaders, officials and mafias are benefitting from prohibition. If it truly leads to women empowerment, Modi ji should implement the policy across the nation.
Your criticism is centered around Nitish and Tejashwi. Are you going soft on the BJP?
Nitish Kumar is the CM. Who else should I speak about? The BJP has no relevance here. Just as Shikhandi fought on behalf of Bhishma Pitamah in the Mahabharata, the BJP has adopted the strategy of placing Nitish in the front and fighting from behind. I have always said that Lalu and Nitish are responsible for Bihar라이브 바카라 decline, but the real culprits are the Congress and the BJP because both these parties sold Bihar to run their respective governments at the Center. Earlier, the Congress sold Bihar to Lalu, today, the BJP is doing the same.
You often praise Lalu. What is the reason behind that?
I have decided to state facts in my election campaign, regardless of political benefits. Lalu ji gave dignity and voice to the backward and the poor. He deserves to be applauded for that. He, however, failed to give them jobs or education. He failed to provide sufficient livelihood options to them. He did not work on land reforms that could have benefitted them. So, while I praise Lalu, I also criticise him.
What is your assessment of Tejashwi Yadav? Does he have any qualities of Lalu?
None. He is known only because he is Lalu라이브 바카라 son. He is the leader of the RJD, and that is his identity. He has not announced any policy decisions benefitting the underprivileged section of society or undertaken any educational reforms, so I really don’t have anything to say about him.
Despite, this, surveys show that over 40 per cent want Tejashwi as the CM.
The entire world does not run only on surveys. You are talking about one survey. I can show you four where people want Prashant Kishor as the CM. Yes, surveys keep happening, but politics and society do not run on the basis of surveys alone.
You have unleashed personal attacks on Tejashwi by commenting on his education. Is this fair?
Sometimes people can’t afford formal education and that라이브 바카라 fine. But if you are the son of two chief ministers, you studied in a good school, and if you fail to clear the ninth grade, that라이브 바카라 not okay. And you did not complete formal education because you wanted to play cricket or become a movie star, you were just not willing and that shows you don’t have a lot of respect for education. Do we want a CM who does not value education? He does not even realise that education is an important tool to eradicate poverty.
All party leaders have talked about stopping migration. You have also made it an election issue. Do you have a roadmap to end migration?
We have a two-step plan—by dealing with the migration of resources, we can stop the migration of brain drain. By going this, the migration of labour will end automatically. If we stop the outflow of capital via banks, Bihar will be able to attract Rs 2-2.5 lakh crore investment annually. That will boost consumption and investment and create more jobs. This will stop migration to some extent. Our second strategy is to link MNREGA with agriculture. By doing so, we will be able to stop the migration of agricultural labourers to Punjab and Haryana.
When Asaduddin Owaisi was contesting elections last time in Bihar, he was called the BJP라이브 바카라 “B-team”. This time, you are being called that. Are their chances of both “B-teams” merging?
Only nervous RJD leaders are saying that I am BJP라이브 바카라 B-team. They are aware that the “oil” (the Muslim vote bank) is evaporating from their lanterns. As for forming an alliance, there is no question of that; neither before the election nor after. We will contest all 243 seats in this election and in 2029. If people bless us with their votes, we will work for the betterment of Bihar. If we don’t get enough votes, we will sit outside and continue working. For me, politics is not a means to become and MP or an MLA and make money.
Talking about leaders like Modi, Rahul Gandhi and Yogi Adityanath, what does their political feature look like?
The BJP라이브 바카라 leadership will go more hardline in the coming years. After Vajpayee, came Advani, then Modi ji. The next in line will definitely be a Hindu hardliner. As for Rahul Gandhi, based on his recent Lok Sabha performance, he will continue to have command and control over the Congress for years.
Jan Suraaj is organising huge rallies and spending money on campaigning. What is your funding model?
I have been answering this question for the past 2.5 years. All those whom I have helped over the past decade, who respect my work and working style and who know what I am capable of are the people who are funding me. They are helping me achieve what Jan Suraaj has aimed for in Bihar. I am not a sand or liquor mafia. I am not an MP or an MLA. I don’t have a government job and I don’t commission contracts. Even my worst opponents cannot accuse me of corruption or allege that I have taken a single penny. These corrupt people have nothing on me.
You have said that even if the NDA forms the government, Nitish will not be the CM again. How are you so sure about that?
Logically, if NDA loses, Nitish is out. If they win, the BJP will replace him anyway. You don’t need to be an expert to see this. You don’t need any survey to prove this. Whether NDA wins or loses, Nitish will not return as CM. End of story.
(Translated by Kaveri Mishra)