Prashant Kishor recently revived his “Jan Suraaj” campaign in Bihar. (file)
Patna:
Political strategist and activist Prashant Kishor said on Tuesday that the opposition’s unity drive would yield electoral benefits only if it came up with a “narrative” and not relying solely on “arithmetic”.
Speaking to reporters in the Samastipur district of Bihar, he refused to give much political importance to the split in NCP in Maharashtra and the CBI indictment against Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.
“A combined opposition can only work if it succeeds in creating a narrative against the regime. The experiment of the Janata party emerged from the mass movement of the Emergency and Jayaprakash Narayan. During VP Singh’s rule, the Bofors scandal spoke to the imagination of the public,” he said. the IPAC founder.
Mr Kishor said: “Political arithmetic alone, devoid of a rational narrative, is unlikely to strike a chord with people.” Prashant Kishor, who has given up on the political consultancy, has recently revived his “Jan Suraaj” campaign in Bihar after a break of more than a month in which he nursed a ligament injury.
Asked about the development in Maharashtra, Mr Kishor said: “It is for the people of that state to decide whether what happened is appropriate or not. But normally a party does not lose its support just because an MLA abandons ship . I don’t see any serious consequences for NCP.” He also mocked reports in a section of the media speculating that the Bihar Chief Minister had become wary of a fate similar to that of the NCP facing his JD(U).
“Politicians are far too persistent to get caught up in the cycle of breaking news. Maharashtra’s development will have no impact outside that state, just as last year’s unrest in Bihar had no impact on politics elsewhere.”
However, he added: “I reiterate that the Mahagathbandhan will not maintain its current composition by the time the state faces the next assembly polls. Former Prime Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s output points in that direction. But a major shift is unlikely before Lok Sabha elections.” On the CBI’s new indictment against Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar’s deputy chief minister, he said: “People don’t blame politicians being charged for alleged misconduct. But they are starting to worry that only the opposition will be caught and those who make peace with the prevailing dispensation be released”.
However, he added: “It is wrong to believe that a crackdown by an investigative firm will help a leader reap political gains by playing the victim card. Such efforts fail to find traction with people”.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
