West Champaran, Bihar: A huge crowd gathered to listen on Friday in Bairiya, a remote village 250 km from the capital of Bihar. leader In which there is no political party or to contest the upcoming elections. This was one of the heydays of former election strategist Prashant Kishor Jan Suraj Travel,
Kishore’s 3,500-km hiking It started on 2 October from Gandhi Ashram at Bhitiharwa in West Champaran district, where Mahatma Gandhi first satyagraha Movement in 1917. Call this step a. being contracted pioneer For his entry in Bihar politics.
Kishor plans to move from village to village in his home state in the next 12-15 months. ThePrint followed his three-day journey, from Bairia to Bhangha in West Champaran.
He begins each address by inviting villagers to speak about their problems. Raised the issue of non-availability of hospital within 30 km radius in Bairiya.
“You must be wondering what this politician is doing here, when elections are not near,” he asked the crowd of three villages. , Bairia, Bajra and Damrapur , on 7 October. He further said that he is not here for votes but to understand their problems and change the behavior of experienced politicians.
In Bajra, Kishor claimed that “the media says whoever joined Kishor in the last 10 years has won the election”, but added that he would no longer work for other political parties and leaders.
Speaking to ThePrint on Sunday in Bhangaha, he said, “We could have accomplished this hiking in six months. We decided to do this for over a year to ensure that our message reaches deep into the villages. ,
He explained that there are three focus points in the message of the Yatra – right people (right people) Positif Thinking (correct idea) and team play (group work).
He said there are currently three goals: “One, to transfer the message systematically. Second, to take the message to the deepest parts of the villages. Third, the right message must be sent.
Attack on Modi, Nitish
Kishor’s past affiliations with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) and Congress have not spared him from his sharp criticism as he is trying to emerge as an alternative.
He asked a gathering of villagers in Chowhatta on 8 October, “You have voted for Modi ji, have you not?” The response was positive. “Now next time you go and press the lotus [the BJP’s election symbol]Gas will be from Rs 1,200 to Rs 20,000, petrol and diesel will be Rs 200 per litre. Modi doesn’t care. He knows that you will vote again in the name of Hindu-Muslim, nationalism and missile on Pakistan.
Kishor also raised the issue of bypassing Bihar in several villages on 7 and 8 October. “Even though Gujarat had only 26 BJP MPs, Modi ji became the Prime Minister. We [Bihar] Sent 39 BJP MPs, but we got nothing,” he said, switching from Hindi to Bhojpuri.
“Ahmedabad becomes a bullet train project worth Rs 1 lakh crore and in here [Bihar’s] Narkatiaganj, we can’t even have a proper railway line?” Election Strategist added.
At Bajra on Friday, Kishor said Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav had studied only till then. class 9 But there is “aspire to become chief minister” but “if your son studies till class 9, he can’t even get the job of a peon”.
The next day in Damrapur he announced, “When Nitish Kumar” [current Bihar CM] He lost the 2014 election came to me, I made him win the next election. now they accuse me with BJP, he is the one who changed the coat and added them,
Villagers of Chowhatta heard him targeting RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav. In Lalu’s time, criminals used to rob at night, during Nitish’s time the administration used to rob during the day. That is the only difference between the two,” alleged Kishor.
On Citizenship Amendment Act, he said, ‘I was the one who fought BJP Mamata BanerjeeOn the issue of CAA.”
Read also: Asked Nitish Kumar to merge JDU with Congress? He is old and confused’: Prashant Kishor
listening to people in tents
Speaking to ThePrint, a villager who attended Kishor’s speech at Bhangha said, “The point is right. it’s time for revenge (What he is saying is correct. Time for change has come).
Teen lives in tent with others Pedestrian, the villages he visits. There is no security team around him and at every stop he listens to the problems of the villagers and addresses the gatherings of people from different backgrounds.
He mainly speaks in Bhojpuri, occasionally switching to Hindi. He has taken a vow on every address that till he does not tour the whole of Bihar, he will not go home or sit in the vehicle. He said that it is subject to their health and the health of their family members.
“There will always be critics,” he told ThePrint, “our people are constantly working on the ground. We have made sure we reach every home at every stop.
His concern is with what the common man thinks of his “prayas” (effort). He asked the gathering at Bhangha, “But what are people saying about the effort? (What are people saying about our efforts?)”
A lot of challenges for teens
Kishor is adept at getting politicians and parties to win, but being the face of his own campaign brings new challenges.
There is a crowd in Bihar’s politics. Apart from BJP, JD(U) and RJD, many small parties They have their own loyal constituents – divided on the basis of caste and communities.
Kishor claimed that he was trying to shift from the traditional caste and religion centric politics of Bihar to the politics of development, unemployment, inflation and poverty.
Last May, he announced that he was stepping down as a political strategist. This came after the announcement of two successful campaigns in which he was involved – Mamata Banerjee’s victory in West Bengal and MK Stalin’s victory in Tamil Nadu.
In May 2022, he indicated the path of his own political outing and “Jan Suraj” in a tweet. While he hasn’t started a party yet, or offered his expertise in forming one, his journey is ensuring that his name is on people’s tongues.
The renewed Mahagathbandhan (the ruling alliance of the JD(U), RJD, and Congress), the BJP, and newer parties such as the Hindustani Awam Morcha and Jan Adhikar Party, are what Kishor will face if he enters Bihar politics.
(Edited by Therese Sudeep)
Read also: Nitish in Delhi, Tejashwi as Bihar CM – RJD’s 2024 plan after JD(U)’s new alliance