Explained: Will Prashant Kishor woo Bihar’s youth away from Tejashwi Yadav’s party? | India News

Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor wants to repeal the existing liquor prohibition in the state within hours of becoming chief minister

Election strategist turned politician Prashant Kishore. (Photo: TV9 Network)

New Delhi: Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Wednesday launched his political party, Jan Suraaj Party, in Patna. In his earlier avatar, Kishore has brainstormed with India’s top politicians on the strategies. Now, as a politician himself, he is promising to reach out to the youth of Bihar and become the state’s chief minister.

To begin with, let us understand the genesis of Kishor’s political innings. How did Prasant Kishor do his groundwork, before launching his party on October 2nd, 2024?

How did Prashant Kishor prepare the ground to launch his party?

Jan Suraaj began as a campaign under which Prashant Kishor met with thousands of people from Bihar to understand their problems. For this he undertook a 3,000-kilometer “padayatra” across Bihar, engaging citizens on the issues of backwardness and underdevelopment.

He is invoking Bihari pride among the residents of the state. After the launch, he announced, “All of you must say ‘Jai Bihar’ so loud that no one calls you and your children ‘Bihari’ and it feels like abuse. Your voice must reach Delhi. It must reach Bengal, where students from Bihar were beaten. It must reach Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and Bombay wherever Bihari children were abused and beaten,” Prashant Kishor said.
The trigger for his statement was a report about students from Bihar being harassed in West Bengal.

What is Jan Suraaj’s USP?

Well, Kishor has cleverly positioned his party as an alternative to the dominant political forces in Bihar: Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal and the ruling Janata Dal (United) led by Nitiish Kumar, supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Kishor claims chief minister Nitish Kumar is not physically or mentally sound to lead the state. He has also gone after the Opposition, by baiting popular RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Questioning his credibility, Kishor said Tejashwi possessed no other qualification than being Lalu Yadav’s son. He mocked him as a 9th fail politician.

How has the RJD responded to his jibes?

Well, Lalu’s daughter Misha Bharati has called Kishor’s party the BJP’s B-team.

Which are the big promises that Kishor made at the launch of his party?

Kishor said he wants to make the people of Bihar aware of their actual needs: quality education, job opportunities and essential public services. He urged the people to analyse their voting patterns and understand how they have historically neglected these critical issues. Addressing these basic needs of the people of Bihar will require an estimated Rs 4 lakh crore, he reckons.

 What is Kishor’s controversial promise about prohibition?

Kishor wants to repeal the existing liquor prohibition in the state. “Once Jan Suraj comes to power, the liquor ban will be lifted within an hour,” he said at the launch. Kishor says the current prohibition law results in an annual revenue loss of around ₹20,000 crore to the state’s exchequer. This can be redirected to fund essential reforms, in his view.

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