Prashant Kishor launches outreach campaign 'Baat Bihar Ki', targets CM Nitish Kumar

Weeks after being expelled from the Janata Dal (United), political strategist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday launched the 'Baat Bihar Ki' campaign aimed at making Bihar one of the top 10 states in the country.

Targeting Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Kishor said that ideological differences were the main reasons behind the conflict and starting February 20, the new campaign will reach out to people who believe new leadership is needed in the state.

"There have been many discussions between me and Nitish Ji about the party's ideology. Nitish Ji always told us that the party can never leave the ideals of Gandhi Ji. But now the party is with those who are soft on Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse. For me Gandhi Ji and Godse cannot go hand-in-hand," Kishor said during a press conference.

He also raised questions on what he called Nitish Kumar's ideological compromise to stay in the alliance with the BJP-led NDA and also rejected the Chief Minister's claims about development in Bihar. "You keep talking about how much the state had progressed since the Lalu regime, but it has been 15 years that you are ruling the state. How much has Bihar progressed compared to Maharashtra or Karnataka," asked Kishor.

The former JD(U) vice president also invited Nitish Kumar and other ministers to debate with him on the data regarding the development in Bihar.

"While Bihar has made progress, we must also see things from the perspective that compared to other states, Bihar is lacking even today... Why is that? It stands where it was in 2005. Except for Jharkhand, Bihar is still the most backward state in India. I keep repeating that Bihar was most backward in 2005, and is still the most backward when compared to other states," Kishor said.

When asked about his expulsion, he said, "I have had good relations with Nitish Kumar Ji. I have immense respect for him. I will not question his decision," adding that he discussed things with him regarding BJP's policies and their impact on Bihar but there were serious disagreements regarding the same.

Kishor is credited for handling PM Narendra Modi's 2014 election campaign that helped BJP score a clear majority. More recently, he undertook the campaigning for Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi Assembly elections and the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections.