By Aafreen Hussain
Politics in Bihar has always resembled an open-ended play — full of suspense, shifting alliances, and unpredictable protagonists. As the 2025 Assembly elections draw near, one name once again dominates every political discussion: Prashant Kishor.
Once hailed as India’s most brilliant political strategist — the mind who helped shape Modi’s 2014 victory, revived Nitish Kumar’s fortunes, and steered Mamata Banerjee’s resurgence — Kishor now claims to have turned his back on party politics altogether.
The question that looms large here is who really is Prashant Kishor? Is he the calm strategist determined to stir Bihar’s stagnant politics into a new awakening? Or has he himself become a living question mark in the story of Indian democracy?
The irony begins with his very name Prashant, meaning calm, and Kishor, meaning youthful the image of a serene, idealistic young reformer promising change. But his political history narrates quite another tale.
Once, he was the master strategist for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) one of the key minds behind Narendra Modi’s historic 2014 electoral rise. Later, he switched sides, crafting strategies for Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and Lalu Yadav’s RJD, helping the Grand Alliance come to power in Bihar. Not stopping there, Kishor became a crucial figure in West Bengal politics too, playing a major role in Mamata Banerjee’s victory against the BJP a triumph that reshaped the state’s political narrative.
Yet, today, the same Prashant Kishor has distanced himself from these very forces. He now brands them as corrupt and morally bankrupt. Which brings us to a pressing contradiction:
If these parties were corrupt, why did he help them rise to power? And if they were honest then, on what grounds does he now denounce them? Is this moral awakening, or selective amnesia in the name of change?
The shift raises deeper questions:Is Kishor’s latest venture Jan Suraaj, his people’s movement truly about giving power back to the people? Or is it a calculated rebranding exercise by a man who knows the pulse of voters too well?
He says, “Politics must return to the people.”A noble idea indeed. But can a man who once turned politics into a product of scientific marketing now claim to be the architect of an idealistic transformation?
And why is Prashant Kishor the supposed face of this movement not contesting elections himself? If he truly believes in his mission, why hesitate to test his own popularity at the ballot box? Is this about serving the people or about preserving his image as the ultimate strategist who never risks defeat?
Political analysts argue that Kishor now stands at a critical crossroads: He will either emerge as the symbol of genuine change, or as the new face of political hypocrisy.
Bihar, weary of promises and betrayals, certainly desires change. But the people are torn. Is Prashant Kishor the change Bihar has been waiting for?
Or is he yet another political illusionist, using the language of transformation to stage a larger game? Only time will tell what verdict Bihar delivers in 2025.
But one thing is already clear Prashant Kishor is not just a strategist anymore; he has become a question in himself. And the answer as always lies hidden inside the ballot box.
Aafreen Hussain is a senior journalist based in Kolkata