'Time To Go To Real Masters': Does Poll Strategist Prashant Kishor Plan To Launch His Own Political Party?

I-PAC founder Prashant Kishor on Monday sent political analysts into a state of scepticism with his cryptic tweet about his next move into the political space. According to media reports, the poll strategist could be heading towards a big move of starting his own political party ahead of the 2024 general elections. Yet, none knows clear as he barely hinted at what his next move will be.

Taking to Twitter, Kishor wrote, “My quest to be a meaningful participant in democracy & help shape pro-people policy led to a 10yr rollercoaster ride! As I turn the page, time to go to the Real Masters, THE PEOPLE,to better understand the issues & the path to “जन सुराज”-Peoples Good Governance (sic),” adding that his quest shall begin from Bihar. 

The cryptic tweet has led political tattlers to think whether Kishor’s return to his home state of Bihar is signalling him joining the Janata Dal (United) or Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Kishor’s spent a brief portion of his political journey in Bihar when he had joined the JD(U) and played a key role in brokering an alliance between Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD and Kumar’s JD(U) for the Bihar assembly polls in 2015. The alliance had defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) then when the Modi wave was said to be at its peak. 

However, in 2020, Kishor was ousted from JD(U) following a controversial remark against the party. However, in February, early this year, Kishor’s meeting with Kumar had again given rise to speculation.

The ambiguous tweet also comes a week after Kishor turned down an offer from Congress, that sought him to work as a member of a committee --  Empowered Action Group 2024 -- ahead of the 2024 general elections. 

According to media reports, Kishor will be touring Bihar to interact more with the people to learn about their problems while avoiding meeting Kumar and officials of the JD(U)-BJP alliance. He is likely to advance his work on the 2015 "Saat Nishchay" manifesto for Nitish Kumar.

Kishor began his journey as a poll strategist from the time of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s candidature with the BJP ahead of the 2014 general elections. In 2015, he forged an alliance between long-time rivals -- JD(U) and RJD -- to defeat BJP in Bihar elections. He also helped with Captain Amarinder Singh's campaign for the Congress victory in Punjab in 2017. 

Thereafter, he has played key roles in the victory of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy in 2019 elections, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s re-election to the Chief Ministerial post, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin's 2021 victory and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's landmark win against the BJP the same year.

Following Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) win in Bengal in 2021, Kishor announced that he wanted to quit the political space, however, leaving a lot of space for speculation.