Prashant Kishor is an Indian political strategist and politician. He joined Janata Dal in September 2018. He was expelled from the party on 29 January 2020 for criticizing party head, Nitish Kumar's, supportive stand on Citizenship Amendment Act. Initially trained in public health, Kishor has worked for the United Nations for eight years before entering into Indian politics. Kishor has worked as an election strategist for DMK, BJP and Congress. His first major political campaign was in 2011 to help Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat get re-elected to the CM Office for a third time in the Gujarat AssemblyElections 2012. However, he came to wider public attention when Citizens for Accountable Governance, an election-campaign group he conceptualised, helped the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party win an absolute majority in the 2014 Lok Sabha election. In a 2018 interview, Karan Thapar recalled having been told by Pawan Verma that Kishor had shown Modi his famous broken off interview with Karan Thapar 30 times, to train him on how to answer difficult questions.
Personal life and career
Kishor belongs to Konar village of Rohtas district but his father Shrikant Pandey, a doctor, shifted to Buxar in Bihar. There, Kishor completed his secondary education. Reportedly working pro bono, and without holding any office in the BJP or Gujarat Government, Kishor became one of the major strategists in the BJP's pre-election campaign. He joined Janata Dal political party on 16 September 2018.
CAG and the 2014 general-election campaign
In 2013, Kishor created Citizens for Accountable Governance, a media and publicity company in preparation for the May 2014 general election of India. Kishor was credited with formulating an innovative marketing & advertising campaign for Narendra Modi— the Chai pe Charcha discussions, 3D rallies, Run for Unity, Manthan and social media programmes. Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of 'Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times' said Kishor was one of the most important people in Modi's team driving strategies for months before 2014 elections. Kishor parted ways with Modi, converted the into a specialist policy outfit, Indian Political Action Committee.
In 2015, Kishor and other CAG members regrouped as I-PAC to work with Nitish Kumar, in a bid to win a third term as Chief Minister of Bihar in Assembly Elections. The claims were that Kishor dramatically influenced the strategy, resources and alliances for the campaign. I-PAC, named after the US based lobbying groups which are designated as PAC designed a cycle carrying the message of the CM's seven commitments, with the slogan “Nitish ke Nishchay: vikas ki guarantee". Upon winning the Bihar elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar named Kishor as his advisor for planning and programme implementation, with a brief look for ways to implement the seven-point agenda that was promised during Kumar's election campaign.
Punjab Assembly Election 2017
In 2016 Kishor was hired by the Congress for Punjab Assembly Elections due in 2017 to help Amarinder Singh's campaign in Punjab after losing two consecutive Assembly elections for the Congress. This win in Punjab has been credited by TV channels like Zee News to Kishor and his team. Several Congress leaders like Randeep Surjewala and Shankersinh Vaghela came on record to openly credit Kishor with the win. Singh tweeted, "As I have said many times before, PK & his team and their work was absolutely critical to our victory in Punjab!".
Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election 2017
In 2016 Congress employed Kishor for the 2017 UP Elections. However, these elections were a failure for the Congress and Kishor as BJP won more than 300+ seats and Congress could only manage 7 seats. Kishor’s decision to side with the Congress in UP was deemed ill-advised by analysts and politicians alike for the party had been out of power in the state for 27 years. It was alleged that Kishor faced difficulty in getting his ideas and suggestions implemented and him and his organisation, at best, were supporting the campaign from the sidelines. Sankarshan Thakur in the Telegraph said, “It was never the party, mind you, that wooed, or even wanted, Kishor; it was always the party’s first family. And that might be central to why the going for Kishor has been so uncertain, unproductive, unnerving."
Kishor was appointed as political advisor to Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy in May 2017. I-PAC designed and executed a series of electoral campaigns for YSRCP like 'Samara Sankharavam", "Anna Pilupu", and the "Praja Sankalpa Yatra" in an attempt to change the image of YSRCP. YSRCP won with a large majority of 151 seats out of 175 seats.
In February 2020, leaders of opposition Jitan Ram Manjhi, Upendra Kushwaha and Mukesh Sahni met Kishor in Delhi ahead of 2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly election to be held in October-November. However, Kishor announced that he would not support any party, but will reach out to 10 lakh youths in 100 days to support his Baat Bihar Ki campaign which is aimed at making Bihar one of the 10 best states in the country.
