The demonstration of BPSC candidates has been going on for some time in Patna, the capital of Bihar. If there is a student demonstration and political parties participate in it, then it is considered a great strength. Because the students of Bihar have once changed the politics of the country. Indira Gandhi’s government in Delhi was shaken by the power of students. In such a situation, this question is arising in everyone’s mind whether Prashant Kishor, who has joined the BPSC students’ movement, will be able to capitalize on this opportunity and open the way to power for himself.
Election strategist turned politician Prashant Kishor, who is trying to make his mark in Bihar politics through the ‘Jan Suraj’ campaign, has recently jumped into the BPSC candidates’ movement. In such a situation, will BPAC moment become ‘Kejriwal moment’ for Prashant Kishore? Will Prashant Kishor be successful in influencing the politics of Bihar like Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi and will he be able to come to power on the basis of the BPSC students’ movement? Such questions are being raised. This is the reason why Prashant Kishor’s jumping into the BPSC movement is being seen as his political strategy. However, till now his move does not seem to be getting any positive response.
Since till a few months ago, Prashant Kishor was considered purely a newsroom leader. He works for political parties from newsrooms and war rooms created to prepare election strategies and is now trying to become a leader himself by getting on the ground in Bihar. In such a situation, the question also arises whether the people of Bihar will be able to trust the leader who does PR work?
Senior Patna journalist Manoj Pathak says, “Prashant Kishore has tried to take the support of the students through the BPSC movement. But it is clear that Bihar politics is focused on casteism and grassroots issues, which does not match with Prashant Kishor’s strategy.” Manoj Pathak believes that Prashant Kishore’s strategy till now has been PR based. He says, “The vanity van episode and refusal to take bail Such steps were taken to influence the public, but they do not seem to be giving them the expected benefits.”
Dominance of caste politics in Bihar
Caste based politics has dominated in Bihar. According to senior journalist Manoj Pathak, the leaders of Bihar have always been based on casteist equations. Nitish Kumar has stuck to Kurmi-Koeri and Lalu Yadav has stuck to Muslim-Yadav equations. But Prashant Kishor’s distance from casteist politics can prove to be a big challenge for him.
Casteism has always been at the center of Bihar’s politics. While Nitish Kumar takes the support of his Kurmi-Koeri caste, Lalu Yadav relies on the Muslim-Yadav equation. Senior journalist Girindranath Jha says, “Since the core issue in Bihar is caste and land, you cannot ignore Nitish Kumar in that. They will dominate. Jha says that it is not possible to ignore Nitish Kumar while he is alive. He gives the example of land survey that the government has extended it for one year, which will continue till the elections. He says that Nitish Kumar has distributed a lot of jobs to teachers, he seems to be getting the benefit from it. He says that Prashant Kishor does not see the benefit of the BPSC movement.”
A senior journalist says, “Prashant Kishor is trying to keep himself away from caste-based politics, but RJD and other parties are trying to link him to a particular class by calling him ‘Pandey ji’ and ‘Pandit ji’. “It affects their image.” Explaining this, he said that by calling Prashant Kishor as ‘Pandey ji’ and ‘Pandit ji’, RJD is trying to satisfy the backward or weaker section voters along with its Yadav + Muslim voters, so that they can give Prashant Kishor a higher status. Can connect with a special class (Brahmins), who are relatively advanced, but they have no power politically.
Girindranath Jha also says that the influence of social media in Bihar politics is limited. He says that “In Delhi, governments can change on the basis of social media, but in Bihar, politics remains focused on grassroots issues. The impact of the BPSC movement will be limited unless it gets the support of caste equations.”
Students’ anger and Prashant Kishore’s strategy
Prashant Kishor has tried to capitalize on the movement of BPSC candidates, but is also facing criticism. Priyank Kumar, who runs a coaching center in Patna, says that actual student participation in the BPSC movement seems to be low. He says, “Of the people detained by Patna Police, 30 were not students. “This movement seems to be deviating from the real demands of the students and has become a part of Prashant Kishor’s political ambitions.”
However, he also says that Prashant Kishor may not get a big benefit in the 2025 elections from the BPSC movement, but he can strengthen his political base by 2030. Kumar Priyank says, “Nitish Kumar has grown old now, his mental condition is not good. Three-four people surround him. Even in BJP, the leaders do not have any status of their own, whereas RJD has become like a bottomless pot. He said that Tejashwi Yadav had hoped that after Kharmas, Nitish Kumar would turn around and make him the Deputy CM, but it did not happen. Kumar Priyanka says that these movements are not going to make much difference to Bihar. People here are unable to think beyond caste.
Priyank Kumar says that PK is like a straw to support a drowning person. Can’t say in 2025, but they can do well in 2030, because the general public is fed up with RJD and JDU-BJP. They call one as Nagnath and the other as Sapnath. He says that fear has started returning among the people due to the ruckus created by the Yadavs as soon as Tejashwi became the Deputy CM. In such a situation, people are running away from Tejashwi. He says that in Bihar all castes have their own blocks and those blocks have leaders. He says that even the Yadavs are now becoming disillusioned with the Lalu family.
Will Prashant Kishor be successful?
Manoj Pathak says that Prashant Kishore’s challenge is not only to gain public support, but also to connect his movement with grassroots issues. He said, “Prashant Kishor’s political future will depend on the caste politics of Bihar, the changing priorities of the public and his own strategy.”
Senior journalists like Manoj Pathak and Girindranath Jha believe that Prashant Kishor will not get political benefit from this movement. Of the 39 people detained by the police, 30 were not students. This fact went against Prashant Kishore and sent the message that the movement has become a pawn of politics.
Since Prashant Kishor has not been able to do anything special in the grassroots politics of Bihar, as all his candidates lost miserably in the by-elections. In such a situation, it is doubtful whether BPSC will be able to do anything big on the basis of its performance. Senior political analysts say in conversation that Prashant Kishor currently looks like a mere bubble, but he has been completely exposed in a small matter like vanity van. He says that this message is being sent to the people that there is some other political force behind Prashant Kishor. Talking about the location of Jan Suraj’s office in Patna, a senior journalist says that he is with a particular leader. This thing is also reaching the public.
However, Prashant Kishore has tried to register his political presence through the BPSC movement. But the caste and grassroots nature of Bihar politics may come in the way of his plans. Prashant Kishor will not only have to bring comprehensiveness in his strategy but will also have to win the trust of the public. For now, the BPSC movement is an opportunity for him, but it remains to be seen whether he is able to make it the foundation of his political future or not.
