<p>Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor is the new player in the Bihar battlefield. However, his political party, Jan Suraaj, will be contesting all 243 seats in the poll-bound state where the NDA and the I.N.D.I.A. bloc appear to be locked in a straight and fierce contest. P K, as he is fondly known, explains why he won’t tie up with any party in Bihar. Excerpts:</p>.<p><strong>You worked with Narendra Modi in 2014. You worked with Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad during the 2015 Assembly elections. In your assessment, will Nitish Kumar return to power for the fifth term?</strong></p>.<p>One thing is for sure. This is the last term of Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister. He is ‘tired and retired’. <br>His health issues are also a matter <br>of concern. Mark my words, he is not going to win more than 25 seats <br>this year.</p>.<p><strong>Is not your assessment unfair for a chief minister who has been ruling Bihar since 2005?</strong></p>.<p>If he wins more than 25 seats, I will retire from politics.</p>.<p><strong>Of late, you have been targeting BJP leaders, but not the RJD or the Congress.</strong></p>.<p>Corruption in the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) or the Congress is known to all. I am exposing all the Bharatiya Janata Party ministers in Bihar because they are more corrupt than the RJD leaders and syphoning off money to the tune of several crores.</p>.<p><strong>You have targeted Bihar Deputy CM and senior BJP leader Samrat Choudhary too for his fake degree and false affidavit in the apex court.</strong></p>.<p>We have demanded his removal from the Dy CM’s post and his immediate arrest also for his involvement in the 1995 murder case in Tarapur (case no. 44/1995) in which seven persons were killed. Samrat was let off by the court after he submitted an affidavit saying he was a minor, as he was born in 1981. However, his affidavit in 2020, while becoming a legislator, says he was 51 years old, which essentially means he was 26 years old in 1995. This is a classic example of forgery by the man who is Bihar’s deputy chief minister. If Nitish does not sack him, we will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his dismissal.</p>.<p><strong>You have also levelled serious corruption charges against Nitish’s close aide and minister Ashok Choudhary?</strong></p>.<p>Nitish often says he is not ready to compromise with 3 Cs: crime, corruption and communalism. He compromised with communalism when he joined hands again with the BJP in January 2024. Crime is at its peak in the state. His ministers are neck-deep in corruption – be it Health Minister Mangal Pandey or Rural Works Minister Ashok Choudhary, who has purchased properties worth Rs 200 crore in recent times.</p>.<p><strong>Even as you make corruption charges against your rivals, questions are being raised about your own funding.</strong></p>.<p>We are very transparent on this issue. I earn through my consultancy. In the last three years, I have earned Rs 241 crore, out of which I have paid around Rs 31 crore as GST and Rs 20 crore as income tax. All these facts and figures are available on the website of the I-T department. Of the remaining amount I had, I donated Rs 98 crore to my party, which is making a poll debut in this Assembly election.</p>.<p><strong>You are preparing to contest all the 243 seats, which even the mainstream parties - the Congress, the BJP, the RJD and the JD (U) - can’t think of in this age of alliances... </strong></p>.<p>Let me make it very clear. We are not forming any alliances with anyone --neither pre-poll nor post-poll. We cannot join hands with those who grab land in the name of giving jobs (in an oblique reference to the RJD). Or, with those who have been looting Bihar, as Nitish has turned a blind eye towards his corrupt ministers.</p>.<p><strong>You have worked earlier with Rahul Gandhi also. How effective has been his Voter Adhikaar Yatra and what dividends could it yield to the Mahagatbandhan in general and the Congress in particular?</strong></p>.<p>This ‘vote theft’ issue, raised by Rahul, is as irrelevant as that of ‘infiltration’ being raked up by Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the poll eve. Unemployment, question paper leaks during every competitive examination, price rises, and migration are a few issues which matter more.</p>.<p><strong>Many experts opine that your intentions are good, but you don’t have a well-oiled machinery to take on your opponents in the NDA or the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, and, therefore, you will end up as cutting votes and damaging the prospects of the NDA or the Mahagatbandhan...</strong></p>.<p>Wait for some time for a big surprise. Voters of Bihar are politically very mature, and they keep their cards close to their chest until the very last moment.</p>
<p>Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor is the new player in the Bihar battlefield. However, his political party, Jan Suraaj, will be contesting all 243 seats in the poll-bound state where the NDA and the I.N.D.I.A. bloc appear to be locked in a straight and fierce contest. P K, as he is fondly known, explains why he won’t tie up with any party in Bihar. Excerpts:</p>.<p><strong>You worked with Narendra Modi in 2014. You worked with Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad during the 2015 Assembly elections. In your assessment, will Nitish Kumar return to power for the fifth term?</strong></p>.<p>One thing is for sure. This is the last term of Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister. He is ‘tired and retired’. <br>His health issues are also a matter <br>of concern. Mark my words, he is not going to win more than 25 seats <br>this year.</p>.<p><strong>Is not your assessment unfair for a chief minister who has been ruling Bihar since 2005?</strong></p>.<p>If he wins more than 25 seats, I will retire from politics.</p>.<p><strong>Of late, you have been targeting BJP leaders, but not the RJD or the Congress.</strong></p>.<p>Corruption in the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) or the Congress is known to all. I am exposing all the Bharatiya Janata Party ministers in Bihar because they are more corrupt than the RJD leaders and syphoning off money to the tune of several crores.</p>.<p><strong>You have targeted Bihar Deputy CM and senior BJP leader Samrat Choudhary too for his fake degree and false affidavit in the apex court.</strong></p>.<p>We have demanded his removal from the Dy CM’s post and his immediate arrest also for his involvement in the 1995 murder case in Tarapur (case no. 44/1995) in which seven persons were killed. Samrat was let off by the court after he submitted an affidavit saying he was a minor, as he was born in 1981. However, his affidavit in 2020, while becoming a legislator, says he was 51 years old, which essentially means he was 26 years old in 1995. This is a classic example of forgery by the man who is Bihar’s deputy chief minister. If Nitish does not sack him, we will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his dismissal.</p>.<p><strong>You have also levelled serious corruption charges against Nitish’s close aide and minister Ashok Choudhary?</strong></p>.<p>Nitish often says he is not ready to compromise with 3 Cs: crime, corruption and communalism. He compromised with communalism when he joined hands again with the BJP in January 2024. Crime is at its peak in the state. His ministers are neck-deep in corruption – be it Health Minister Mangal Pandey or Rural Works Minister Ashok Choudhary, who has purchased properties worth Rs 200 crore in recent times.</p>.<p><strong>Even as you make corruption charges against your rivals, questions are being raised about your own funding.</strong></p>.<p>We are very transparent on this issue. I earn through my consultancy. In the last three years, I have earned Rs 241 crore, out of which I have paid around Rs 31 crore as GST and Rs 20 crore as income tax. All these facts and figures are available on the website of the I-T department. Of the remaining amount I had, I donated Rs 98 crore to my party, which is making a poll debut in this Assembly election.</p>.<p><strong>You are preparing to contest all the 243 seats, which even the mainstream parties - the Congress, the BJP, the RJD and the JD (U) - can’t think of in this age of alliances... </strong></p>.<p>Let me make it very clear. We are not forming any alliances with anyone --neither pre-poll nor post-poll. We cannot join hands with those who grab land in the name of giving jobs (in an oblique reference to the RJD). Or, with those who have been looting Bihar, as Nitish has turned a blind eye towards his corrupt ministers.</p>.<p><strong>You have worked earlier with Rahul Gandhi also. How effective has been his Voter Adhikaar Yatra and what dividends could it yield to the Mahagatbandhan in general and the Congress in particular?</strong></p>.<p>This ‘vote theft’ issue, raised by Rahul, is as irrelevant as that of ‘infiltration’ being raked up by Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the poll eve. Unemployment, question paper leaks during every competitive examination, price rises, and migration are a few issues which matter more.</p>.<p><strong>Many experts opine that your intentions are good, but you don’t have a well-oiled machinery to take on your opponents in the NDA or the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, and, therefore, you will end up as cutting votes and damaging the prospects of the NDA or the Mahagatbandhan...</strong></p>.<p>Wait for some time for a big surprise. Voters of Bihar are politically very mature, and they keep their cards close to their chest until the very last moment.</p>