Political strategist Prashant Kishor on Thursday said that he would not be forming a new party for now, reported NDTV.
The statement came after the political strategist had hinted on Monday that he may enter electoral politics, less than a week after he declined an offer to join the Congress.
“My quest to be a meaningful participant in democracy and help shape pro-people policy led to a 10-year rollercoaster ride,” he had tweeted. “As I turn the page, time to go to the Real Masters, THE PEOPLE, to better understand the issues and the path to [people’s good governance]. The start will be from Bihar.”
On Thursday, the poll analyst announced that he would undertake a 3,000-km march in Bihar, his home state, on October 2, the birthday of freedom fighter Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
“In the next three to four months, I will meet many eminent persons of Bihar who can help build the idea of Jan Suraaj [people’s good governance] and make them part of it,” Kishor told the media days after launching a campaign titled Jan Suraaj, reported ANI.
Kishor said he will dedicate himself to bring “nayi soch, naya prayas” or new thinking, new effort in the state.
“Bihar is today the most backward and poor state of the country even after 30 years of Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar rule,” he said, reported ANI. “Bihar is still at the lowest rung of the country on many parameters of development. If Bihar wants to come in the list of leading states in the coming times, then it needs new thinking and new efforts.”
Kishor said that around 17,500 to 18,000 people have been identified to join his movement and help him understand people’s problems, PTI reported.
On April 26, Kishor had refused to join the Congress as a member of its Empowered Action Group 2024. The group is meant to address the political challenges for the Congress ahead of the 2024 General Assembly elections.
After declining the offer, Kishor had said that the Congress needed leadership and collective will to fix its “deep-rooted structural problems” through transformational reforms.
On Thursday, the political strategist said that the talks with the Congress were inconclusive as the party had more capable people than him. “They know what they have to do,” he said.
Kishor also spoke of his good relations with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, NDTV reported. But he added that he did not want to work with Kumar.
Kishor was appointed the vice-president of the Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) in 2018. Two years later, he was sacked from the post.
“I have no personal fight with Nitish Kumar,” he said. “We have very good relations. But personal relation is one thing and working together and agreeing is different. If Nitish Kumar calls me for a meeting, I will have to go. But that doesn’t mean we agree on everything and that will work together.”
Kishor rose to fame after running a successful campaign for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He has had stints with many political parties since then.
His political consultancy firm, I-PAC, was believed to be instrumental in the state election victories of the Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
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