Prashant Kishore in Bihar is becoming popular among youth with issues like unemployment. They can make a dent in the BJP’s upper caste vote bank beyond caste. The survey is watching him in the role of kingmaker with 8–10% vote share.
Patna: Prashant Kishore (PK) is the most discussed in Bihar politics these days. There is a huge crowd gathering in their meetings and their attraction on social media is also increasing. PK, especially among the youth, looks like a big option. By raising ground issues like unemployment, migration and corruption, they have directly put the NDA government in the dock.
Appeal beyond caste equation
The interesting aspect is that in Bihar’s politics where the caste equation has dominated, PK is seen enticing such voters which have traditionally been considered the core voters of the NDA. Opinion polls are also indicating that PK can dent BJP’s vote bank. Some surveys are getting them up to 8–10% vote share, while some are watching him in the role of kingmaker.
Straight on BJP leaders
PK has directly taken the big BJP leaders on its target. Raised the issue of State President Dilip Jaiswal’s Medical College, raised Health Minister Mangal Pandey in the dock, questioned the degree of Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary and asked former state president Sanjay Jaiswal questions on petrol pump ownership. These attacks are directly related to issues on which the general public is already angry.
Catch on upper caste and young voters
PK himself comes from the upper caste background and that is why their appeal is also visible among the upper caste voters. Questions like unemployment and migration have made him a favorite of young voters. In meetings, PK repeatedly raises the same question as to why the youth of Bihar have to migrate to Delhi, Gujarat or Mumbai for employment and respect.
BJP’s concern and strategy
The BJP describes the PK factor on public forums, but this has become a big issue in internal meetings from Amit Shah to JP Nadda. The party’s assessment is that at present, the vote share of PK is 5–6%, but it will be reduced to 2–3% by the election. The reason is the promise of 10 tickets in every assembly, but only one will get the ticket and the remaining 9 will be angry.
Question on PK funding
The BJP is questioning their funding instead of accusing PK of corruption. Party leaders say why the deficit companies are giving donations of crores to PK. The BJP wants the credibility of PK to be hurt through this question.
Jungle Raj vs Modi friend
The BJP claims that Bihar’s youth and upper caste voters will not want to return to Lalu-Tejasvi’s “Jungle Raj” by defeating BJP through PK. Keeping this in mind, the party has planned to make 10,000 Modi friends in every assembly. They will act like digital soldiers, count the achievements of the government on social media and try to add first-time voters.