This data-magician lost all his skills in the battle ?

Prashant Kishore (PK) proved to be a mere bluff in Bihar. He had been touring villages across Bihar for the past three years, gauging the public’s pulse. Subsequently, on October 2, 2024, he formed the Jan Suraj Party (JSP) and contested the 2025 assembly elections. Despite his all-out efforts, he failed to win any of the 243 seats, nor did he manage to cut votes. The people of Bihar ignored him. The primary reason for this was his arrogance. He was determined to prevent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from becoming Chief Minister. He repeatedly declared in his speeches that no matter who formed the government in Bihar, Nitish Kumar would not become the next Chief Minister. He reiterated this in every visual interview. At times, listening to him sounded like a Durvasa cursing him. This arrogance led to his downfall.

PK only dominated social media and could not win the hearts of the people.Data juggler Prashant Kishor squandered all his talent in the electoral battle. Those who claim he was a tool of the BJP and fielded to cut the votes of the Grand Alliance are mistaken. He was neither able to cut the votes of any alliance nor increase theirs. He remained a mere blinkered social media hero, without any solid ground. He dreamed of winning the election like Arvind Kejriwal. But Arvind Kejriwal emerged from the Anna movement. He had been running an NGO for a long time. Even before contesting the elections, he had received Asia’s Nobel Magsaysay Award. He was neither an airhead nor a data player. He decided to enter the electoral battle by making the UPA government’s corruption an issue, and he won.

Neither could he become AK nor could he remain PKIt’s also significant that he made Delhi his battlefield. Delhi’s character is completely different from Bihar. It’s a region with a completely cosmopolitan culture and isn’t entangled in casteism. The middle class population is higher, so Delhi’s people are intellectually sharper than Bihar’s. Arvind Kejriwal came like an angel to the people of Delhi, struggling with inflation and corruption. Yet, he failed to secure a majority in the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections. He performed exceptionally well in 2015 and 2020. But by 2025, even Arvind Kejriwal crumbled like a pack of cards. However, he did win the Punjab Assembly elections in the meantime. In contrast, Prashant Kishor merely organized elections, monitored data, and formulated strategies. He never became a leader among the people. This is why he met this fate.

fell face down on the floorPrashant Kishore had predicted that his party would either reach the heights or fall to the ground. He proved correct in this prediction, falling to the ground. He must now consider that strategists always lag behind astute politicians. After all, when the mighty Chandragupta Maurya overthrew the Nanda dynasty and seized power for himself in Magadha, his strategist was Chanakya. Chanakya never expressed a desire to take power. Because a strategist cannot take power on his own; he only sets the pieces. Although he raised good issues and connected to the people, he failed to gauge their pulse. Traveling from village to village builds your identity, but it does not make you a king. Furthermore, politics requires a long battle. After all, the Jan Sangh was formed in 1950 and came to power in 1996.

Salary may be cut but votes should not be cut.The voting game in Bihar was different this time. How voters made it their mission to go and vote. Let me give you an example. Our housemaid, Zubeida, suddenly went on a month’s leave on October 31st. She made the excuse that her cousin was getting married. But the person she hired in her place told her she had gone to Katihar to vote. Zubeida traveled in the third AC class and took her parents and brothers with her, securing Tatkal tickets. Similarly, the vegetable vendor’s wife also went to Gopalganj, and the driver’s wife to Muzaffarpur. All of these people went to vote, but the real reason was fear of the Election Commission. They were told that if they didn’t vote, their votes would be cancelled under the SIR. Then they wouldn’t receive free rations or the ten thousand rupees for women. This fear worked, and all these helpers from Bihar went to vote. If money is deducted here, let it be deducted, let their votes be deducted.

Big success for BJPThe NDA has achieved tremendous success in the Bihar Assembly elections. Among its constituent parties, Chirag Paswan’s LJP has achieved 100% success. And the BJP’s performance is also at its best ever. Sooner or later, the BJP may form a government on its own in Bihar. This will certainly boost the BJP’s morale. If this happens, it will form a government in Bihar for the first time. It also proved that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s repeated, off-topic comments on the identity of upper castes backfired on him. Tejashwi Yadav likely understood this, which is why he distanced himself from such comments by Rahul Gandhi. A large segment of Bihar’s middle class is migrating, with a significant upper caste population within this segment. Their children migrate to Delhi for education and employment.

As the percentage of votes increased, the RJD slipped further.As a result, the upper castes distanced themselves from them and sided with the BJP in the NDA. Pappu Yadav’s statement that even God cannot win as an independent candidate also drew the upper castes and other intermediate castes to the BJP camp. Many such developments isolated the Grand Alliance. Tejashwi Yadav is paying for all of Rahul Gandhi’s mistakes. This is the first time in the RJD’s history that they have fallen so far behind. Furthermore, this time saw the highest voter turnout. The first general election after independence was held in October 1951. Bihar’s voter turnout was 42.60 percent at that time. Since then, the figure has never exceeded 62.57 percent. However, in the 2025 assembly elections, 67.13 percent voted, a 9.6 percent increase from the previous time. Among these, the proportion of women voters is 8.15 percent higher than that of men.

Trust in Modi and his policiesOne reason for the NDA’s landslide victory in the state is voters’ trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies. Home Minister Amit Shah put all his efforts into ensuring the NDA’s victory, and it paid off. The transfer of Rs 10,000 into women’s accounts led to women voting in droves. On the other hand, Tejashwi Yadav proved to be a boastful man. His announcement of a job for one person in every household failed to yield any results. The psephologists who compared the Grand Alliance to the NDA also failed. Although seasoned journalists from Bihar were saying that the BJP would do best this time, their words were ignored. It would not be wrong to say that the mandate in Bihar has shown everyone their place. This is certainly a boost for the BJP, as next year, elections are due in Bengal, just ahead of Bihar.