Delhi Elections 2020: A test of Prashant Kishor's prowess?

Prashant Kishor, a name that has captured a significant spot in the narrative of India politics for the last six years. A person who has been hailed as a master strategist, a shrewd tactician, a trump card that political parties must have up their sleeves. For someone who is not a politician, Kishor commands immense respect in the arena, with parties hiring him time and again for his apparent political acumen, hoping for favourable results. In the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections set for Feb. 8 with counting on Feb. 11, Prashant Kishor would once again like to stamp his presence by guiding the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who hired him to manage the election campaigns, to victory.

A lingering question remains about Kishor's brilliance, with doubters claiming that he is all glitz and glamour. He shot to fame in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, which saw the rise of BJP under the leadership of Narendra Modi. If one remembers carefully, Modi was at the peak of his power during that time. He was riding on the wave of the 'Gujarat model' that was the textbook of what development means, at a time when the country was riddled with scams and corruption cases. Yes, Prashant Kishor moulded Narendra Modi into an enigma that the nation could trust during a time of turmoil, and he improvised campaign plans by introducing 'Chai pe Charcha', but much of the groundwork was done by Amit Shah also. The 'Modi wave' helped the BJP to form the NDA government at the Centre, and Prashant Kishor became an overnight sensation.

He left the BJP and teamed up with Nitish Kumar JD(U) in 2015, and helped the latter to become Chief Minister of Bihar. The purple patch continued as he helped the Congress to win the Punjab Assembly elections in 2017, with Captain Amarinder Singh becoming the Chief Minister. The win was largely credited to Kishor, who cemented his place as an indispensable force in Indian politics. The Punjab win was more significant for the fact that the Congress had lost in the previous two consecutive Assembly elections there (2007 and 2012).

And Kishor suffered a setback in the same year. Before the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Congress hired him as a poll strategist. The party ended up winning a paltry seven seats out of the total of 403. It was a crushing defeat for the Congress in UP, and it left their bid to stage a comeback after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in tatters. It may be considered a blip in Kishor's sublime track record. He bounced back by propelling YSR Jagan Mohan Reddy and his party, the YSR Congress, to a colossal victory in the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections (they bagged 151 seats out of 170).

Is Prashant Kishor really the 'Chanakya', as he is so fondly called by the media, who can steer any political party to victory? That is a question that begs for raging debates and arguments. It can be said, that Kishor almost always had the advantage of sailing with the current. In the 2015 Bihar elections, he worked in a team that had the combined might of two of the most powerful people in the state: Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav. In the Andhra Pradesh elections, Jagan Mohan Reddy had the chance to seize upon the anti-incumbency wave against the Chandrababu Naidu government.

Incidentally, Kishor lost the battle for the Congress in UP where he was pitted against the BJP, who campaigned without a Chief Ministerial face, under the leadership of Modi and Amit Shah. In recent times, Kishor had joined hands with the TMC in West Bengal and the DMK in Tamil Nadu, two powerful regional parties. Despite the setbacks and hurdles posed by the BJP, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is still leading the race in Bengal's political power structure, and the DMK had regained some lost ground in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by winning in 21 seats out of the total of 39. Even the Narendra Modi-led NDA government won in the 2019 General elections with a bigger mandate than in 2014, and this time without the help of Prashant Kishor.

Yes, Kishor can devise new plans using modern methods to sway the voters. It can be said without a doubt that he has been largely successful in his methods. Yet, his expertise can be questioned, his finesse can be scrutinised with a simple question, a pertinent demand that every victor has to fulfil to lend a sense of assured credibility: A victory when the back is against the wall. Even in the upcoming Delhi elections, the wind is blowing in the AAP's favour. Kishor will add another feather to his cap if the party wins. If the AAP fails to gain the majority, questions will be raised about his ability.

Whatever happens, one thing can be said safely. Prashant Kishor has proved that he is here to stay.