'Keep plenty of water handy': Prashant Kishor responds to critics over 'meltdown' dig after Karan Thapar interview

Prashant Kishor (Screen grab from The Wire interview)

Political strategist Prashant Kishor on Thursday responded to his critics after a clip of his heated exchange with journalist Karan Thapar was widely shared on social media, during which he predicted the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

During the interview, Kishor predicted that BJP will again win over 300 seats in the Lok Sabha elections and the final tally will be similar to or slightly better than its 2019 performance. In the previous elections, BJP won 303 seats in the lower house.

"With whatever observation and experience I have in this domain, I do not see BJP's number going down materially from where it was in 2019 ... {it will be} More or less the number which they had in 2019 I see a repeat of that or maybe it will get even better," he told Thapar.

Following this, Thapar probed Kishor on how confident he is about his assessment, given that he earlier predicted a rout for Congress in Himachal Pradesh which turned out to be incorrect. This triggered a heated exchange between the two, with Kishor denying that he ever made such a prediction on record and Thapar saying there are several reports quoted him as saying so. Kishor also takes a sip of water during the exchange.

Several social media users posted the clip on X, mocking Kishor for getting worked up when cornered by Thapar. Some even said that Kishor had a "meltdown" during the interview.

Prashant Kishor: I can handle four like you.

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Karan Thapar: I congratulate you.

pic.twitter.com/cyuL099wsf

— Parth MN (@parthpunter) May 22, 2024

Reacting to that, Kishor tweeted: "Drinking water is good as it keeps both mind and body hydrated. Those who are RATTLED with my assessment of outcome of this election must keep plenty of water handy on June 4th. PS: Remember, 02nd May, 2021 and #West Bengal!!"

Drinking water is good as it keeps both mind and body hydrated. Those who are RATTLED with my assessment of outcome of this election must keep plenty of water handy on June 4th.

PS: Remember, 02nd May, 2021 and #West Bengal!!

— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) May 23, 2024

Kishor was referring to his earlier prediction during the West Bengal elections in 2021, when he said that Mamata Banerjee's TMC will retain power in the state and BJP will not even cross 100 seats.

During the interview, Kishor also predicted that Congress will not hit the three-figure mark in the elections.

“Where they will be I do not know but I do not see Congress getting 100. Because if Congress is getting 100 then BJP is not getting 300, as simple as this.”

Kishor refrained from predicting an actual figure for Congress, saying there is "no bottom to the pit".