By Ajay Kumar
Patna, March 5 In a state where caste politics dominates all other issues, ace political strategist Prashant Kishor is sticking to raising social, financial, educational and cultural issues to target the Nitish-Tejashwi government in Bihar and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
Now, the bigger question is why is a person undertaking a Yatra in Bihar. Prashant Kishor claimed that he is taking the views of the common people of Bihar on whether he will go for launching a political party or limit his Padyatra only to an awareness campaign.
According to an official from the Jan Suraj team, the organization has held some interactions during the Padyatra including in West Champaran, East Champaran and Gopalganj districts. The 5000 to 6000 people who participated in each event have voted for the formation of a political party in Bihar.
"However, it is too early to say if the Jan Suraj campaign would turn into a political party or not but the chances of it are brighter. Prashant Kishor has travelled around 1700 km in 152 days in Bihar and he is expected to complete the Padyatra before the Lok Sabha election 2024," an official said.
The political campaign in Bihar is in a transformative phase. At a time when political parties are dependent on rallies, they held road shows to connect with the people closely and it transformed into a Padyatra.
A Padyatra is not a new phenomenon in India. Several leaders including the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi have undertaken it on several occasions. During the Mahatma's time the transport system was not well developed and hence a Padyatra became an effective medium to connect with the people. The same theory is being adopted these days.
Prashant Kishor was the first to announce a 3000 km Padyatra in Bihar under the Jan Suraj campaign. However, the Congress party started the Bharat Jodo Yatra first and gained success under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi who walked over 3600 km from Kanyakumari to Srinagar. The Padyatra of Prashant Kishor has not been completed yet.
Following the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, several leaders of Bihar including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Upendra Kushwaha are doing Yatras in their own ways.
But what outcome are they achieving through their Padyatras. For Prashant Kishor, he is raising local issues to target the state and central governments.
While doing the Padyatra in Siwan, he said: "The Swachata mission of the Narendra Modi government has failed completely as people in every village are relieving themselves in the open."
He also targeted the Nitish-Tejashwi government of Bihar and said: "The votes will not be given on the issues of Nali-Gali (Drain-Narrow lanes). The voters will cast their votes on the issues of migration, farmers, unemployment, education and other people related issues."
Kishor said that the earnings of farmers are not surplus. The majority of them are involved in farming only for the survival of their families.
Such statements are based on the feedback he is getting during the Padyatra. Kishor has the ability to communicate with people effectively in the local language.
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