Prashant Kishor: From Successful Poll Strategist to Electoral Defeat in Bihar's Jan Suraaj Experiment

Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj, positioned as a third political alternative in Bihar, completely failed to secure any seats in the state's election.

New Delhi:

Success as a coach doesn't always translate to victory as a player. This reality has struck poll strategist Prashant Kishor, whose impressive record of guiding political leaders to electoral victories contrasts sharply with his own crushing defeat in his first electoral test. His Jan Suraaj Party, which was promoted as a fresh political alternative in Bihar, couldn't win a single seat in the recent elections. In a conversation with NDTV at the Bihar Power Play conclave earlier this month, Kishor had predicted his party would either win "fewer than 10 seats or more than 150." The outcome of zero seats likely exceeded even his most pessimistic projections. More concerning for Kishor is that many Jan Suraaj candidates performed so poorly that they're expected to lose their deposits, eliminating any possibility of claiming a respectable showing through statistics.

Kishor initially gained prominence as a political strategist during Narendra Modi's successful 2012 Gujarat election campaign. At that time, professional political consultancy was relatively uncommon in Indian politics, and Kishor's contribution to BJP's decisive victory thrust him into the spotlight. Modi's team again utilized Kishor's expertise during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, resulting in BJP's sweeping national victory. However, by 2015, Kishor had switched allegiances, refining the Mahagathandhan campaign in Bihar, where the Nitish Kumar-Lalu Yadav alliance secured a comfortable win.

In 2017, Kishor helped guide Amarinder Singh, then with Congress, to victory in Punjab. His winning streak continued as he assisted YSRCP's Jagan Mohan Reddy to triumph in Andhra Pradesh.

By 2021, Kishor was working with MK Stalin's DMK in Tamil Nadu and Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, both of which achieved significant electoral successes.

Three years after orchestrating Nitish Kumar's 2015 campaign, Kishor made a surprising career shift by joining JDU in 2018. Kumar appointed him as JDU's National Vice President—a significant position for someone without electoral experience. Reports suggested this appointment created discontent among senior JDU leaders, though Kumar appeared undeterred by internal opposition.

Kishor played an instrumental role in JDU's 2019 Lok Sabha election strategy, where the party allied with BJP and won 16 seats, rebounding from its 2014 defeat.

However, Kishor's tenure with JDU proved brief. His public criticism of Nitish Kumar's support for the Citizenship Amendment Act ultimately led to his departure from the party.

After guiding DMK and Trinamool Congress to victory in the 2021 Assembly elections, Kishor announced his intention to "quit this space" and "do something else." The following year, he launched the Jan Suraaj Abhiyan. Over four months, he traveled extensively throughout Bihar, stating his goal was to understand grassroots concerns and develop a comprehensive strategy for transforming the state.

Following the Lok Sabha election, Kishor formally established the Jan Suraaj Party and clearly stated his intention to contest the 2025 Bihar election.

Leading up to the election, Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party conducted an energetic campaign with substantial social media presence, leading many observers to believe it would emerge as a formidable political force. In interviews, Kishor expressed confidence in Jan Suraaj's prospects while predicting JDU's defeat. Jan Suraaj fielded diverse candidates including Bhojpuri singers, former bureaucrats, academics, and experienced politicians who had previously served with other parties.

However, counting day revealed completely opposite results. Jan Suraaj failed to win any seats, with most candidates performing dismally. Meanwhile, JDU significantly improved its position, winning 41 more seats than in 2020.

When previously questioned about a potential poor showing, Kishor had stated his commitment to working for Bihar for the next decade, regardless of electoral outcomes.

While Kishor has yet to make a public statement regarding the results, Manoj Bharti, Bihar chief of Jan Suraaj, acknowledged that "people could not understand" their political approach. "Perhaps we could not make people understand. We will start again," he stated.

Though Kishor deserves recognition for establishing a new political entity in Bihar's challenging political landscape, his inaugural campaign highlights the significant gap between social media outreach and ground realities, as well as between political messaging and actual electoral mathematics.