Prashant Kishor may float a political party

Political strategist Prashant Kishor said on Monday that it was time for him to go directly to the people, creating a buzz in political circles. There is speculation that he could launch a new political party, with an announcement coming as early as May 5, HT learns.

Also Read | What is Prashant Kishor up to in Bihar?

His quest to be a meaningful participant in democracy and help shape pro-people policy led to a 10-year roller-coaster ride, Kishor said in a tweet. It was time to go to the real masters, the people, to better understand the issues and the path to good governance, he added. The beginning will be from his home state of Bihar, the poll strategist said.

The move didn’t elicit much surprise from political watchers in the state. Not only has the 45-year-old been toying with the idea of entering politics in his home state for some time (he was born in Sasaram), the announcement has come at a time when Bihar is in a state of flux.

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

Kishor’s announcement of “Jan Suraaj” (People’s good governance) comes at a time when there are murmurs of chief minister Nitish Kumar facing an existential crisis within the ruling coalition. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s official position is that there is no question of a change of chief ministership in the state -- the BJP is the bigger party in the legislature, with 77 tothe Janata Dal (United) or JD (U)’s 43 -- the talk of either him moving to Delhi or stepping down refuses to go away. Many in the BJP privately talk about how after the 2020 elections, it was felt that the BJP would have more say, but that there is some resentment among state BJP leaders, even some ministers, that the Chief Minister’s office controls all.

Interestingly, Kishor, who is in Patna was scheduled to meet chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday evening but did not. He said: “I could not go (and meet Kumar). It could have been misinterpreted.” Kishor did meet Nitish Kumar earlier this year -- the ostensible reason was to wish him well post Covid -- and it has always been evident that there is an open channel between the two.

Also Read | Prashant Kishor’s cryptic tweet prompts speculation about his next move

Kishor, who has previously worked with parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party and Trinamool Congress, was expelled from Janata Dal (United) in January 2020 for criticising the party’s support for the Citizenship Amendment Act.

He turned down an offer to join Congress last week, but held discussions with political leaders and parties in Patna on Monday.

“Prashant Kishor is trying to do an AAP [Aam Aadmi Party] in Bihar,’’ said a BJP leader on condition of anonymity.

His effort may target people not comfortable with any of the existing political dispensations, said a person who knows Kishor.

Opinion is divided on how he will do.

“Till now, he was working for political parties, and now he wants to own one. Everybody has the freedom to form his opinion. But Bihar will change and people will start to follow him, I don’t see it happening. A new party cannot bring a political upheaval in Bihar,” said D M Diwakar, former director of A N Sinha Institute for Social Studies, an autonomous institution.

Also Read | Prashant Kishor’s tryst with political parties over the years

But the BJP leader cited above said Kishor’s gameplan may be to get enough vote share to tilt the balance in the state. This person explained how the BJP has a 35% vote share, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) 35% , Nitish Kumar’s JD (U) 15 % and the Congress and other parties such as the Left, the remaining 15%. “Two groups need to be together in order to be in power in Bihar and in 2015, we had Nitish and RJD coming together and now we have the other two together. They will stay together till there is another option.’’ And Kishor, this person added, “knows that people want some alternative.’’

Kishor may well be hoping to be this change agent in his home state. While he dismissed this theory about being “the new AAP” and refused to comment further, it is well known that he announced a similar initiative after his split from the JD (U) over the party’s support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). That was two years ago (just before the pandemic), and at the time, he spoke to the press about his initiative to attract like-minded people in the state and claimed he could enrol a million people in a movement -- but that initiative fizzled out.

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“The political understanding and awareness of Bihar’s people is different,” Diwakar said. “Caste and religion are the main planks for a party. Kishor may like to do issue-based politics, which will not help him immediately.”

The state BJP was critical of the move.

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

Also Read | Congress may still act on some of Prashant Kishor’s ideas

However, the first BJP leader cited above said Kishor could eat into the party’s Brahmin base i fhe launches a party.

The JD(U), was more guarded in its response.

“Kishor has been directly or indirectly involved in politics for a decade now. Everybody has the freedom to form an organisation,” said JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha. “Sometimes back also he tried to mobilize youth but nothing concrete came out it.”

Analysts said new parties have failed to perform in the state.

“In the last assembly elections, Plurals Party did not get any success,” said Gyanendra Yadav, associate professor of sociology, College of Commerce, Patna. “The state has seen caste-based, reservation-politics and PK (Prashant Kishor) will have to look for another stream.”