By Kumkum Chadha
When Prashant Kishor walked out of a television interview alleging that the interviewer had an “agenda”, he not only displayed bad behaviour, but also came across as arrogant, uncouth and downright rude. Instead of taking the questions, as a mature politician should, Kishor was like a child throwing a tantrum.
Clearly, he was on the backfoot given that he had been cornered on his educational qualifications. The interviewer, calm and composed, had raised a pertinent question about how educated Kishor was. This was against the backdrop of Kishor targeting Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
For the record, Kishor has often mocked Yadav and referred to him as “9th fail”. He has, reportedly, questioned his ability to lead the state with a low educational background. While on Choudhary, Kishor has alleged inconsistencies in his educational qualifications, stating that he did not study beyond the seventh grade. Therefore, the interviewer’s question was appropriate and in order.
But the shoe is on the other foot: Kishor was rattled and instead of handling the situation deftly, he walked out of the interview: enough ammunition for BJP’s Amit Malviya to make this segment of the interview go viral.
The education bit was perhaps the last straw. Kishor was also unnerved when the interviewer had questioned his decision to opt out of the forthcoming state elections.
Kishor had in the past indicated that he would make his electoral debut from Raghopur Assembly constituency. But he took what his detractors are terming as a “somersault” and said he would not contest the elections: “The party has decided that I should concentrate on organizational work and not contest.”
Added a party source: “Had Kishor contested, the entire organizational machinery would have had to focus its energy on the seat. Also, he didn’t want to get caught up in the backward-forward narrative, which the Opposition might build”.
For the uninitiated, Kishor is a Brahmin, while Yadav belongs to the backward caste. While the caste matrix would play a pivotal role in the elections, Yadav’s political experience far outweighs Kishor’s. The youngest son of former chief ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, Tejashwi has served two terms as deputy chief minister.
As against this, Kishor’s forays into politics were as a strategist initially for the BJP and then for the Congress and Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. Last year, he formed the Jan Suraaj Party which is in the fray in the state elections in Bihar.
Politically, for Kishor to opt out of the electoral battle makes sense. Fighting and winning against Yadav, who is also being projected as the chief minister, is no child’s play. While it is a loss of face for Kishor to back out, the toss up is between losing an election and losing face. Kishor being a political strategist must have assessed his chances and the outcome may be different than what he would have wished to see: hence the backtrack and opting for losing face rather than an election.
This is, however, not to suggest that the forthcoming elections are a cakewalk for Yadav and the RJD. For starters, jungle raj or lawlessness charges during the regime of his parents would haunt him. Add to this the high-level corruption by Bihar’s “first family” if the Yadavs can be termed so.
It may be recalled that Tejashwi’s father, Lalu Yadav was convicted in several cases for withdrawal of money from government treasuries. Popular as the fodder scam case, Lalu Yadav has served a prison term.
Last month, a Delhi court framed charges in another scam case alleging that as Railway Minister, Lalu Yadav had favoured hotel owners who returned the favour by selling prime land at a throwaway price to his close associate.
Summing up Lalu’s “sins”, the BJP said: “If Lalu Prasad’s entire tenure were to be summarized in three sentences they would be consuming fodder, drinking coal-tar, and manipulating government property and tenders to grab land. A fourth model should also be included: “Jameen Do, Naukri Lo (give land, take job)…the most striking feature of this model has been that all its benefits were confined solely to the family, with no one outside receiving anything”.
The last one on jobs is targeting Tejashwi’s promise of regularizing contractual workers if his party forms the government. This is in addition to his broader promise of providing one government job per family.
Amid this is the flip flop of the Mahagathbandan over the chief minister’s face. The spoke in the wheel is the Congress that was reluctant in projecting Tejashwi as the CM face. Also cracks appeared on the seat sharing formula with RJD and Congress candidates facing each other in some seats in what is being termed as a “friendly fight between allies” to quote Ashok Gehlot who air-dashed to Patna to save the alliance from falling apart.
Though there was little clarity on the formula that has actually been worked out, ostensibly, the differences have been ironed out. This follows Gehlot’s announcement that Tejashwi Yadav would be Mahagathbandan’s CM face. Earlier Gehlot had met RJD chief Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi to diffuse the brewing tensions that had threatened the unity of the coalition, given that the RJD and Congress were the major partners.
The Mahagathbandan, as is well known, is a coalition of political parties, comprising RJD, Congress and Left parties.
Bihar apart, the Opposition alliance formed in 2023, gave the BJP a run for its money in 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It was, most would agree, a formidable combination that led to BJP not getting a majority mark in the general elections. Christened as INDIA alliance, 26 parties had joined hands to take on the NDA.
These included Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Indian Muslim League and Left Parties, among others. Its strength and relevance were there for everyone to see with it bagging 234 seats: only six short of the BJP which had invaded the arena with its “abki baar 400 paar” slogan, this time 400-plus (seats).
The numbers clearly substantiate the strength of a combined Opposition. Not only did it take on the formidable BJP, but also demonstrated that the BJP is not invincible and if push came to shove and the Opposition can create its space and one that is enough to unnerve the BJP.
That said, creating space is one part: retaining and building on it another. On the first, the INDIA alliance did well. On the second it slipped and slipped badly. Over time cracks appeared and the alliance disintegrated as swiftly as it was formed: The Aam Aadmi Party quit as did the TMC and the JD(U); there were internal differences with partners accusing the Congress of being inactive as also undermining the regional partners. The window of hope that the BJP has a united Opposition to face to its peril, seems shut: an opportunity lost not by fate, but by deeds, rather misdeeds.
It would not be wrong to squarely blame the Congress for this. In other words, Rahul Gandhi whose flip flop was central to the theme of disintegration.
For starters, Rahul Gandhi was seen as pushing his own narrative. A case in point: his obsession with Gautam Adani and his alleged linkages with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Proceedings in Parliament were often disrupted and allies consistently felt that national issues that should be highlighted were pushed to the backburner.
Regional parties were also peeved at Congress’ “dominance” and its unwillingness to accommodate the views of regional and smaller parties. The leadership of the alliance has also remained an issue. When Mamata Banerjee threw her hat in the ring, Congress was unwilling to cede space.
Therefore, if anyone is singularly responsible for the disintegration of the INDIA alliance it is the Congress, read Rahul Gandhi. Alliance partners have accused the Congress of being a “bad coalition partner” and one that cannot win elections without their help.
Equally it is true that the Congress has frittered away the advantage it had initially accrued from Rahul Gandhi’s 14-day Voter Adhikar Yatra across 25 districts and 100 constituencies in Bihar. It had created a buzz, but its efficacy remains to be tested on the ground. The vote chori campaign did resonate with the people; it is a potent slogan, but whether it would do for the Mahagathbandan what “changing the Constitution” slogan did for the INDIA alliance in 2024 remains to be seen.
It may be recalled that during the Lok Sabha elections, the INDIA alliance had flashed pocket editions of the Constitution to drive home the point that the BJP, if voted in, would change the Constitution and take away the rights of the people.
Likewise, the vote chori campaign had the potential to significantly damage the prospects of the ruling party. But thanks to the Congress leadership, its indecisiveness and antics, the results may be far below its expectations, underscoring what a veteran once said about the grand old party: “The worst enemy of the Congress is not the Opposition, but the Congress itself”.
—The writer is an author, journalist and political commentator