Patna:
Poll strategist-consistent’s Prashant Kishore, whose life Suraj Party is ready for its debut in Bihar elections later this year, is open to contest elections against Tejasvi Yadav, RJD’s heavyweight candidate and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.
Mr. Kishore spoke to NDTV in a special interview, during which he underlined his party’s vision and shared how he was preparing for a big fight.
Asked if he would jump into the field of elections, he replied, “If the party decides, I will definitely contest (election) elections. If the party wants me to contest from Raghopur against Tejashvi Yadav, I will do so.”
Raghopur is an RJD stronghold who has chosen RJD founder Lalu Yadav, his wife and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi and Tejashvi Yadav several times.
Mr. Kishore said that the NDA government headed by Nitish Kumar in Bihar is against the anti-opposition wave. “He messed up the Kovid management. People are angry. Nitish Kumar is in his last political innings. BJP will never let Nitish Kumar become Chief Minister again. And NDA will not form the next government in Bihar. Even if coming to power in India, Nitish Kumar will never be made the Chief Minister.
Mr. Kumar, who is known for constantly jumping into the political corridor, is in his ninth term as the Chief Minister. He is ready for elections with the current colleague BJP and is against the alliance of RJD and Congress.
When asked about the issues of focusing on Jan Suraj, Mr. Kishore said, “Corruption, migration and governance, we will contest on these three issues. Nitish Kumar is faulty and his officers and close political friends are running the government. He does not know what is going on. We all know that we are running the government.”
On the question that such issues are echoed with voters in Bihar, widely considered to be operated by caste equations, he replied, “Let’s not doubt the intellect of the people of Bihar. They understand the development very well. That is why he did not vote against Nitish Kumar against Llu Prasad Yadava.
Mr. Kishore joined Nitish Kumar’s party in 2018. He left after two years after disagreeing with leadership on the Citizenship Amendment Act.
When asked about their presence at Iftar parties, and is it aimed at making the minorities happy, “I replied,” When I am going to the field, there is nothing wrong in attending Iftar parties. If it is Ramadan and an iftar party is going on, I will definitely join it.
Asked about the allegations of rivals that he was planning his move as per caste equations, Mr. Kishore said, “This is a wrong allegation. I am above caste politics. I am above ticket distribution, I represent all castes in ticket distribution, in proportion to their population. Do not do this.
He also said that caste equations are important in many states including South India, “But we only talk about states like Bihar and above”.
Speaking about the caste survey conducted by Mahagath Bowndhen government in front of Nitish Kumar’s latest Flip-Flop, he said, “The government here only conducts caste survey, but no one talks about what is there after that. You need to work on the results of the survey.”
In a personal question, Mr. Kishore was asked whether his image of the pole strategist disrupts his political possibilities. “I have also worked in the United Nations. I have worked as a political advisor, but now I am a full -time politician. Please do not do justice to me by my previous profession,” he replied.
