Former electoral strategist Prashant Kishor claims that politics in Bihar has been plagued by “inertia,” claiming that power has been concentrated within “approximately 1,200-1,300 families” over the last three decades.
During a news conference in Hajipu, the Vaishali district seat, the famed data analyst asserted when he began a public outreach campaign as a warm-up for his much-discussed 3500-kilometre-long “padayatra,” which he plans to undertake on Gandhi Jayanti.
“Until the 1960s, Bihar was one of the best-governed states in the country. In the late 1960s, things began to deteriorate, and by the 1990s, we were at the bottom of all development indicators. Political instability was a defining feature of this period. Bihar had more than 20 governments in the 23 years between 1967 and 1990, “He commented.
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In his professional capacity, Kishor, who has worked with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, maintained that the state’s situation is “even if we regard Nitish. Ji’s claims of excellent administration and Lalu Ji’s promises of social justice as real.”
He’s also dubbed his state-specific political endeavour ‘Jan Suraaj,’ disputing claims that he was influenced by Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, which defeated established parties like the Congress and the BJP in Delhi and Punjab, respectively.
“If anybody has inspired me, it is Gandhi and the Congress of his time,” he remarked, “when a family or a clique did not control the party, and anyone with fire in his belly was free to join and grow ahead.”
“It’s not simply because it’s my home state that I’ve selected Bihar… To begin with, we observe a concentration of power on a scale that is unprecedented. Regardless of who has been in the CM’s chair for the previous 30 years, all MLAs, MPs, and ministers have come from just 1,200-1,300 political families. Consider this in a state with over three crore homes, “Kishor said.
He attributed the “inertia” to the climate that has existed “since the 1970s,” with “no social or political activity to ignite the ordinary people’s imagination.”
“As a result, finding Sahi log’ is a top priority for me (the right people). A party may develop after they have been recognized and given a platform. Questions such as whether the party would be named ‘Jan Suraaj’ and if Prashant Kishor will be a member of its executive committee may be determined later “, He said.
Kishor, credited with Narendra Modi’s election victory in 2014, also dismissed claims that his status as an upper-caste Brahmin placed him at a disadvantage in Bihar, where OBCs have dominated politics since the Mandal period.
“Myths have been given to the people of Bihar. I’ve gone to elections in some states. Caste matters as much elsewhere as it does here. Society, on the other hand, can transcend beyond caste issues, “he said
