- Prashant Kishor vowed no retreat without winning Bihar after Jan Suraaj's poor poll debut
- He cited Gandhi's patience and examples of Imran Khan, BJP, and Nitish Kumar's past struggles
- Kishor says there may be operational tweaks but no major changes in Jan Suraaj's core approach
Days after the Jan Suraaj Party faced a drubbing in the Bihar election, its leader, Prashant Kishor, said there was "no question of stepping back without winning Bihar". He invoked Mahatma Gandhi and cited examples of Pakistan's cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, a struggling BJP in the 1980s, and a politically weaker Nitish Kumar in the 1990s.
Kishor spoke to NDTV's Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal during the Walk The Talk show; this was his first interview after Jan Suraaj scored a duck in its maiden poll test.
READ: "Won't Give Up, Haven't Slept Since Bihar Results": Prashant Kishor To NDTV
"There is no question of stepping back without winning Bihar. You don't know how stubborn I am," he said. Kishor pointed to the example of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who contested on multiple seats in his maiden election and lost all of them. "But eventually, a day came when he won. (Mahatma) Gandhi teaches us two 'P's: patience and perseverance; you have to stick to what you believe is right. I believe what I am doing is right for Bihar," he said.
READ: "Rs 10,000 To Women Big Factor In Bihar Verdict": Prashant Kishor Exclusive
The poll strategist said there may be some operational changes in the coming years, but there will be no fundamental change in the way Jan Suraaj functions. He cited his stand on prohibition, saying he would continue to support the end of the liquor ban in Bihar. Kishor's announcement that he would end prohibition if Jan Suraaj won the election is believed to have hurt the party's electoral prospects, alienating a large section of women voters.
WATCH: 'Huge Gap Between Our Dream And Reality': Prashant Kishor On Bihar Results
The Jan Suraaj Party leader also cited examples of the BJP's electoral low in the 1984 general election and Nitish Kumar's setback in the 1995 Bihar election. "If you interviewed BJP leaders in 1984, you could have asked them where they could get votes from, and that everything is with the Congress. But the BJP gradually gained votes. If you spoke to Nitish Kumar in 1995, you could have asked how he would get votes. But when you work among people, you create support," he said.
READ: Prashant Kishor Says Jan Suraaj Shifted Bihar's Politics From Caste To Jobs
Kishor said he had not expected that Jan Suraaj would get just around 4 per cent vote share. He said that he never got a survey done before the polls, something he relied on during his work as an election strategist. "I played blind. My estimate was that we would get 12-15 per cent of the vote share. But it came to 3.5 per cent, so we need to analyse," he said.
