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Will Prashant Kishor joining JD(U) deliver 2019 Lok Sabha Polls to the NDA?

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Saif Ullah Khan
Saif Ullah KhanSep 17, 2018 | 19:39

Will Prashant Kishor joining JD(U) deliver 2019 Lok Sabha Polls to the NDA?

Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has started a new innings. After handling the election campaigns for different political parties over the last six years, Kishor joined JD(U) on September 16 in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during the state executive meet of the party.

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Earlier, Kishor announced his retirement from election campaigning for political parties. "[For] two years, I have been wanting to get out of this domain. It could have been post-the Uttar Pradesh poll results, but the failure put the decision on hold. In 2019, you will not see PK campaigning for any party or individual," he had said during the ISB Hyderabad Leadership Summit.

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Prashant Kishor joined JD(U) on September 16 in the presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Photo: PTI

Kishor started by working on Narendra Modi's campaign for his fourth stint as Gujarat's Chief Minister in 2012, moving on to manage Modi's Prime Ministerial campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections – and steered the BJP to a resounding victory.

He was the brains behind campaigns like Modi's 'Chai Pe Charcha', Manthan and the party's social media interventions.

Known for using surveys, constituency-wise analysis to devise his electoral strategies, Kishor became Modi's chief poll strategist.

In 2015, Kishor parted ways with the BJP and joined hands with Nitish Kumar to manage the JD(U)'s election campaign for the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls.

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Prashant Kishor was the brains behind campaigns like Modi's 'chai pe charcha', Manthan and the party's social media interventions. Photo: PTI

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He came up with 'Parcha Pe Charcha', modeled on his earlier campaign of 'Chai Pe Charcha', to get feedback from voters on the government's performance and the campaign slogan of "Bihar Mein Bahar Ho, Nitish Kumar Ho".

To better connect party workers with the voters, he also devised the 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign.

Kishor was instrumental in bridging the differences between Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav and ensured that Modi, who had recently swept the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, did not breach the Bihar fortress.

The campaign worked and the JD(U), RJD and Congress Mahagathbandhan won the 2015 Bihar polls, further cementing Kishor's credentials as a master strategist.

In 2016, Kishor shifted camp once again and moved on to manage the Congress' campaign for the 2016 Punjab Assembly elections. Captain Amarinder Singh won the elections and Kishor stayed on to manage the party's campaign for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

The drubbing the Congress-SP combine got at the hands of the BJP in the 2017 UP Assembly polls dented the poll strategist's invincible image and he laid low, later going on to manage the campaign of YSR Congress' Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh.

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Why JD(U), not BJP or the Congress?

Kishor himself acknowledged that he shares a cordial relationship with both Prime Minister Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi and has been in touch with both the national parties. The reason why the seasoned strategist chose to go with a regional party was the elbow room it provides him to operate.

Both the BJP and the Congress, despite having a national footprint, are huge organisations – and Kishor would find himself fighting for space with other well-established players.

JD(U), on the other hand, is a one-man show, where Nitish holds sway; proximity to him would ensure Kishor is able to carry out and better implement his strategies for the party.

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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has said that 'he is the future of the party'. Photo: PTI

Having helped Nitish at one of the lowest points in his political career, Kishor ensured JD(U)'s win in the 2015 Assembly polls after the party's dismal performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the master strategist knows he can get a significant position within the party's organisational structure.

A resident of Buxar in Bihar, there are already talks of him contesting the next Lok Sabha elections from the constituency or being rewarded with the currently contested Rajya Sabha seat of Sharad Yadav.

While party workers seem pleased with the strategist joining the party, there is a sense of unease among senior functionaries, especially given Nitish Kumar's comments that 'he is the future of the party'.

Kishor's significance for the JD(U) and the NDA

Having already proved his bones during the earlier Assembly elections in 2015, Kishor brings much-needed energy to the party.

Already under relentless attack from RJD's Tejashvi Yadav on the Muzaffarpur shelter home case, the party desperately needs a better and more proactive response to the charges, something that the strategist is an expert at.

His social media and marketing strategies could significantly blunt the opposition's charges on the deteriorating law and order in the state and ensure 'Sushasan babu' is back in the reckoning.

He would also be playing a major role in JD(U)'s seat-sharing talks with the BJP. Having recently met Amit Shah, Kishor is likely to get a good deal for his party for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Having officially joined the JD(U), Kishore would also be working for the NDA for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls – something that could prove to be a challenge for the united Opposition that is depending heavily on their own social media campaigns to take on Modi.

Kishor, known for his social media interventions and marketing campaigns that connect directly with the voters, would also have to step in for other NDA partners. 

Faced with a united Opposition, the Narendra Modi-led NDA would be more than pleased to use the services of a seasoned campaign manager. 

With the electoral space having undergone a sea change from the 2014 campaign he undertook for Modi, Kishor also has his work cut out for him. While earlier Modi was riding high on Congress' anti-incumbency and major corruption charges against it, this time, the NDA is facing the heat.

Having finally thrown his hat into the political ring, the poll strategist will have to ensure a win for his party. With no political base of his own, to survive in the political arena, Kishor will have to up his strategist game.

Last updated: September 18, 2018 | 00:17
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