Prashant Kishor Dismisses Rahul Gandhi's Influence on Bihar's Gen Z Voters: "Not a Homogeneous Group"

Prashant Kishor stated that Congress holds no significant role in the Bihar election.

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has rejected claims that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi exerts any meaningful influence over Generation Z in Bihar, criticizing Gandhi's limited engagement and understanding of the state's issues.

During an exclusive interview with ANI, Kishor emphasized that Generation Z cannot be viewed as a "homogeneous group" that would respond collectively to Gandhi's appeals, despite the opposition leader's frequent "vote theft" allegations and calls for young people to protect democratic processes.

"What actual knowledge does Rahul Gandhi possess about Bihar? He visits briefly, moves around, delivers a few media soundbites, and then disappears," Kishor remarked.

"When Bihar's general population isn't responding to him, why would Generation Z be any different? Gen Z in Bihar isn't a uniform group that mobilizes based on someone's call or assessment," he further explained.

Kishor observed that some people are drawing excited comparisons to recent Gen Z protests in Nepal, which successfully ousted former Prime Minister KP Oli's government in September, but dismissed such scenarios occurring in Bihar.

"Bihar is deeply political in nature. It's quite different from Bangalore. People here might lack proper clothing, food, or employment, but there's tremendous political engagement among the population. This results in citizens abandoning their regular work to engage in politics constantly. However, I don't foresee any revolution happening here based merely on someone's call to action," he stated.

The Jan Suraaj founder highlighted that while youth constitute an important electoral factor in Bihar, their significance stems primarily from concerns about unemployment and migration.

"Young people between 20 and 30 years face severe unemployment challenges—not mild difficulties, but substantial hardships. They're forced to migrate elsewhere and endure difficult living conditions. That's certainly a major factor in Bihar. You can label them Gen Z, youth, or millennials—these are just terminologies," he explained.

Nevertheless, Kishor believes Congress lacks electoral relevance in Bihar and maintains "no presence" outside the Seemanchal region.

"I've maintained that Congress functions as an RJD follower in Bihar. They're a major national party, the opposition leadership at the national level, and connected to the Gandhi family. Naturally, media covers them extensively," he said.

"From Bihar's perspective, however, Congress has no meaningful presence. They aren't a decisive factor and generate little discussion. Congress exerts minimal influence. Politically, their effect is visible only in Seemanchal, where I believe Muslims still lean more toward Congress than RJD," Kishor added.

The initial phase of Bihar assembly elections concluded peacefully on Thursday with record voter participation. The remaining 122 constituencies will vote during the second phase on November 11, with results scheduled for announcement on November 14.

(This article has not undergone editing by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from syndicated content.)