Prashant Kishor's Journey From Political Strategist To Active Participant

Over a decade after he scripted a memorable victory in the 2014 general elections for the BJP and Narendra Modi, Prashant Kishor is back in the game. The founder of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) has the distinction of working with some of the most prominent regional and national parties in the country.

Since the launch of his own political outfit, Kishor has trained guns on the ruling NDA government and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He promised to spearhead a change in the state. In August, he said the BJP was more corrupt than Lalu Yadav.

Prashant Kishor's Journey

• Popularly known as PK, Prashant Kishor was born in 1977 in Konar village of Bihar's Rohtas district. Later, he moved to Buxar to complete his secondary education. Before entering politics and working as a strategist, he spent eight years working in a public health programme supported by the United Nations.
• Kishor's foray into politics began with his involvement in the 2012 Gujarat assembly elections for Narendra Modi's successful campaign.
• Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Kishor co-founded Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG) and helped the BJP win a decisive mandate. His team designed innovative strategies, including Chai Pe Charcha, 3D rallies, Run for Unity, Manthan and various social media campaigns to connect with online viewers.
• Kishor's association hasn't been limited to the BJP. Only a year later, he forged an unlikely Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal (United) and Congress alliance in Bihar. The Mahagathbandhan, as it was called then, delivered victory, with Nitish Kumar leading the government until 2017 when the JD(U) pulled the plug on it and joined hands with the BJP.
• In 2016, Congress hired Kishor for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly election. The party's loss was the first major electoral debacle for Kishor. In 2018, Kishor took a political plunge, joining Nitish Kumar's JD(U). He was appointed the party's vice president. Two years later, he was expelled by Nitish Kumar. The party made its stand clear: "Party's decisions, discipline and loyalty for the leadership is the fundamental requirement".
• Kishor's organisation, I-PAC, continued to work with multiple political parties. He first helped YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSRCP in the 2019 Andhra Pradesh elections and then the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi in 2020.
• In 2021, Prashant Kishor returned full-time to his favourite ground - political strategy. He worked with the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu, winning assembly elections in both states with good numbers.
• Following these high-profile successes, Kishor announced that he would be taking a break from election strategy. "I do not want to continue what I am doing. I have done enough. Time for me to take a break and do something else in life. I want to quit this space."
• In 2024, Kishor announced plans to start a political party by working for "Jan Suraaj" or "people's good governance". He then embarked on a 3,000-km padyatra across Bihar called the "Jan Suraaj Padyatra."
• On October 2, 2024, Kishor officially launched the Jan Suraaj Party, which contested the election this time.