Prashant Kishor wins toughest electoral battle yet, but leaves everyone guessing about future

Prashant Kishor (File image)

It was a bold statement which could have come back to bite him. Way back in December, poll strategist Prashant Kishor had tweeted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would not even cross double digits in the West Bengal assembly elections.

"For all the hype amplified by a section of supportive media, in reality BJP will struggle to cross double digits in West Bengal. PS: Please save this tweet and if BJP does any better I must quit this space," he said in a tweet he had pinned.

That in spite of ridicule, Kishor stuck to his guns and was ultimately proven right, showing that he has the pulse of the electorate better than any psephologist, political journalist or analyst.

At the time of writing, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress is set for a third term, winning or leading in 209 out of 292 seats, as per the Election Commission website. The BJP, though easily the second-largest party, is coming in at 81 seats, much worse than what the exit polls predicted.

In spite of being accurate in his predictions, Kishor did drop the proverbial bombshell on counting day, when he told news channels that he would be quitting 'this space'. That is, he would no longer work as an election strategist.

"I am done with this work...I am taking a break...I won't be working for party A and party B... I am quitting this space," Kishor, who is Mamata Banerjee's election strategist, told CNN-News18.

Kishor wasn't holding back. "Just because central ministers come and campaign does not guarantee a win. They had huge resources. But that is not enough to win elections. The BJP's campaign was an extension of 2019, they repeated the same strategy while TMC course-corrected," he told CNN-News18.

There was no change in Bengal's narrative, there was nothing positive. The fight was between Didi and Modi and never about any other leader, Kishor said.

In interviews with other channels, Kishor dropped hints as to what he would do next, after spending some time with his family.

"Joining politics has always been on the radar. If I Idecide that, I will have to see what I know and what I don't know. There are many things about politics I don't know. But that decision has not been taken yet," Kishor told India Today TV.

To be sure, Kishor was referring to electoral politics. He has already been a part of Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) from September 2018 to January 2020.

No Lack of Suitors

If, and it is a big if, Kishor decides to throw his hat in the electoral ring, he could find many erstwhile clients willing to accommodate him, given that he, and his organisation I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee), has strategised for parties across the political spectrum.

Kishor came into prominence as a key member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2014 election campaign. He then parted ways with the BJP and worked with the JDU-RJD-Congress 'Mahagathbandhan' in the 2015 Bihar election.

He was hired by the Congress for the 2017 Punjab and Uttar Pradesh elections. While his work with Amarinder Singh's campaign got Congress back to power in Punjab, the UP elections were a setback for the Congress-Samajwadi Party combine.

He then managed successful campaigns for YS Jaganmohan Reddy in the 2019 Andhra Pradesh elections and for Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party in the 2020 Delhi elections.

For 2021, apart from TMC, Kishor was also the political strategist for DMK Chief MK Stalin, another fruitful campaign as the party has come back to power defeating the incumbent AIADMK.

So endeared has Kishor made himself to some of his clients that Nitish Kumar as Bihar Chief Minister had made him a vice-president of JDU and Amarinder Singh has made him Principal Advisor, with a cabinet minister-equivalent rank.

It should be said that Kishor's main focus in terms of political ideas has been his home state of Bihar.

On May 2, Kishor also confirmed that he would be parting ways with the I-PAC, the organisation he founded to contribute to political affairs. "The I-PAC has several talented individuals. It would continue to run," he said. "But I would quit," he told NDTV.

Whatever course Kishor takes, it will not be a stretch to predict that he could play a major role in some of the upcoming state elections in some capacity, if not as an advisor, leading all the way to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.