‘Does Prashant Kishor know ABC of work done in Bihar?’ asks CM Nitish Kumar
The Janata Dal (United) chief called Kishor a ‘publicity expert’ and said that he may want to help the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday asked whether poll strategist Prashant Kishor knew anything about work that has been done in the state since 2005, ANI reported.
Kumar’s first full-length term as the chief minister was between 2005 and 2010. Since then, he has served as the Bihar chief minister till date, except between May 2014 and February 2015.
On Wednesday, Kumar called Kishor a “publicity expert” and said that he may want to help the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Janata Dal (United) chief made the remarks in response to a question at a press conference in Delhi.
The chief minister said that it was Kishor’s business to work for several political parties, the Hindustan Times reported. “Whatever he has got to do in Bihar, does not concern us,” he told reporters. “Does he know the ‘ABC’ of what all has been done since 2005?”
In response to Kumar’s comments, Kishor had on Thursday posted a tweet that featured four photographs showing the Janata Dal (United) chief smiling at Modi, according to NDTV. He subsequently deleted the post.
Kishor shot to fame after advising Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign. He has had stints with many political parties since then, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party.
The strategist had joined the Janata Dal (United) in September 2018 but left in January 2020 due to differences with Kumar and other senior party leaders.
In May, Kishor launched a Jan Suraaj Abhiyan, or people’s good governance campaign. He said that through the campaign, he wants to establish regional connections, find out about residents’ problems and provide solutions to them.
Nitish Kumar took oath as the chief minister for the eighth time on August 10, a day after he snapped ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
On August 17, Kishor said that the new Bihar government – a coalition of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, JD(U), Congress, four Left parties and an Independent candidate – does not have the support of the people.