Enthused by the public response after a journey of 200 km during his Jan Suraaj Padayatra, political strategist Prashant Kishor on Wednesday foresaw a political transformation written on the wall in Bihar and said he has been receiving supports including financial help from six chief ministers across the country to take his political campaign to its logical conclusion.
Kishor’s disclosure came at a press conference held at the government school at Patilar in Bagaha 1 block of West Champaran, the place which saw the commencement of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s ‘Vikas Yatra’ in 2009. He described his campaign ‘less expensive’ compared to political parties as expensive requirements such hiring planes, buses, political rallies and advertisements have been done away with.
“The money is coming from Saraswati. Not even a single rupee from the leaders and parties was taken for the services rendered in the last 10 years. The financial assistance is coming from my former clients, six of them are chief ministers now. They are the ones who are giving initial help for the Jan Suraj Abhiyan. In the next few days, they are creating a big platform of crowd funding. People of Bihar can do this by making small contribution on their behalf. Will be able to contribute in the whole process. The population of Bihar is 13 crores. Even if two crore people give ₹100, it will become 200 crore and the campaign of ‘Jan Suraj’ will go ahead with public money,” he said without naming any of his clients.
Prashant Kishor’s Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC) has had the reputation of ensuring the victories of 10 political parties, except the Congress in 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly election, in a span of 10 years between 2011 and 2021.
His other former clients include Arvind Kejriwal, M K Stalin, Mamata Banerjee and Jagan Mohan Reddy, chief ministers of Delhi, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh respectively. This apart, he helped Amarinder Singh win Punjab for the Congress.
Otherwise viewed as his fresh entry into politics after being expelled from Janata Dal (United) in 2020, Prashant Kishor has been on the Jan Suraaj Padayatra since October 2 from Mahamta Gandhi’s Bhitiharawa ashram and intends to cover a 3,500 km in Bihar.
“As we are passing through the villages, we are coming across mostly women, children and elderly people in the villages and it becomes clear that migration has taken a formidable form. 70 percent of the youth of the villages have gone out for livelihood,” said Kishor, adding that the successive governments in Bihar have completely failed to lit up the faces of masses.
Referring to the education system, he said that the education system of Bihar has completely collapsed. “Where there is building, there are no teachers and students, where there exist students, there are no teachers and buildings,” said Kishor, adding availability of electricity in villages is a small consolation in the name of development. “But the erratic electricity bills have punched holes in the pocket of villagers,” he added.
