Gloves off as NDA leaders, Prashant Kishor trade barbs in run-up to high-stakes Bihar polls
In response, Prashant Kishor alleged that BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal did not know the 'A, B, C' of social media and claimed that BJP workers operated the accounts in question. He said instead of making false accusations, former minister Jaiswal should explain how he illegally established 'kavja (control)' over a minority medical college in Kishanganj.
In a fresh attack, the BJP in Bihar has accused Prashant Kishor of using social media accounts—falsely identifying as BJP accounts—in the Jan Suraaj election campaign, creating confusion among the BJP voters. On Wednesday, in a written complaint to the cyber cell of the Patna police, the BJP demanded action against Prashant Kishor for the fraudulent use of the accounts, which have defamed the ruling party in Bihar.
New Delhi: Ahead of the assembly election in Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party has escalated its attack on Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, who was the brain behind the BJP's 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign when he was working as a political strategist.
Prashant Kishor's latest attack on Jaiswal is the third in a series, coming after clashing with JD(U) leader Ashok Choudhary, followed by his row with BJP leader Mangal Pandey.
Earlier, in his complaint, Jaiswal said, 'Prashant Kishor is using fake BJP accounts to promote Jan Suraaj. This is a cybercrime, and the cyber cell should take action.'
Moreover, Jaiswal told the media, 'After his flop rally at Gandhi Maidan, Prashant Kishor is resorting to such dirty tricks for his publicity. He has been using such tactics for years. How can he use a BJP page to post anti-BJP content and defame the party?'
'He (Kishor) claimed ten lakh people would come to his rallies, but not even ten thousand are showing up. Now, he and his team are using these tricks. Any BJP account must be started only by the organisation; no one can create a BJP or JDU account and post anything,' he added.
Addressing the media, Prashant Kishor countered Jaiswal, saying, 'It was a Facebook group run by BJP members. Anyone can post on that open group. Instead of accusing others, Jaiswal should explain how he captured the medical college in Kishanganj. There should be an investigation into the matter.'
'That man (Dilip Jaiswal) does not even understand that he was pointing fingers towards the BJP in an X post on his page. It is a Facebook group managed by two BJP workers since 2016, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Jan Suraaj, and BJP have commented on some of the posts,' Kishor said, adding, 'I have taught social media to their seniors.'
He further said: 'Tell Dilip Jaiswal his party is in power, at the Centre and in Bihar. Let the DGP investigate. If I have done anything wrong, I will retire from politics. If I am right, Jaiswal, with his hands folded, should issue an apology to the Bihar youth. He should instead explain the college's capture and the murder of its founder.'
Anmol Sovit, who has been in charge of the Bihar BJP social media team, told The Print, 'We have one verified page of Bihar BJP, but many unofficial pages are running with the name of BJP. We have filed complaints to block such pages and groups. How can anyone run a group under the BJP name and post anything?'
Bihar BJP spokesperson Danish Iqbal told ThePrint, 'We have made complaints against such pages run by our opponents.'
Speaking to ThePrint, a Jan Suraaj leader defended the party, saying, 'BJP workers run that group—created in 2015—before the Jan Suraaj existed. Ankit Raj and Megan Yadav presented their credentials as two members of the BJP. How can the BJP blame Jan Suraaj now? Failing to find anything substantial against Prashant Kishor, it is now targeting social media posts out of desperation.'
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Prashant Kishor vs Ashok Choudhary
As the assembly election approaches, Prashant Kishor, who earlier targeted only Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav during his rallies, has now begun attacking other JD(U) ministers and BJP leaders to consolidate his voter base in the state.
JD(U) leader and Nitish confidant Ashok Choudhary had become his first target. Kishor accused the minister of the rural work department, Bihar, of buying a Lok Sabha ticket from Chirag Paswan's party for his daughter, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Shambhavi Choudhary.
After Kishor's allegations, Ashok Choudhary sent a defamation notice to the Jan Suraaj founder for making false claims. Kishor, however, continued to attack Choudhary for allegedly giving a bribe to Chirag for an LS seat ticket for Shambhavi. Now, he is fighting a legal case against Prashant Kishor in court.
A day ago, Prashant Kishor again accused Ashok Choudhary of 'dynasty politics' after reports about his son-in-law's appointment as a member of a state commission surfaced.
He said, 'Ashok Choudhary is an all-party leader. His father, Mahavir Choudhary, was in Congress, he is in JD(U), his daughter Sambhavi is in LJP, and now, his son-in-law is a member of the Dharmik Nyas Board, Bihar, on RSS quota.'
'Only RJD has no members from his family. His family has been in politics for three decades. How many Dalits has he helped? During his tenure as education minister, why did only three percent of Dalits pass the Class 12 exam?' Prashant Kishor further asked.
Prashant Kishor vs Mangal Pandey
Minister of Health and Law in Bihar Mangal Pandey became Prashant Kishor's second target after the rape of a Dalit child who died later due to a lack of medical treatment. Over the last few weeks, Kishor has attacked him for Bihar's crumbling health infrastructure.
At a press meet in Muzaffarpur, Kishor said, 'During COVID-19, Mangal Pandey was the health and law minister, but lakhs of people died due to a lack of oxygen and infrastructure. Now, a Dalit girl has died at Patna Medical College & Hospital (PMCH). He should tell the public why doctors refused to treat her. He should resign if he has no answers.'
Of late, the Jan Suraaj Party has posted pictures of the condition of a primary health centre in Mangal Pandey's village to embarrass him. The party has not only protested and led a candle march after the child's rape but also continued to put pressure on the BJP and Mangal Pandey.
Nowadays, the Jan Suraaj founder attacks Pandey in most of his rallies. At one of them, Prashant Kishor said, 'In a hospital, rats chewed off a patient's finger. The health minister should introspect instead of speaking to the media. Those involved in corruption over cotton and bandage purchases should not talk about honesty.'
Manoj Kumar Bharti, the Jan Suraaj Bihar president, told ThePrint, 'We have demanded the prime minister sack Mangal Pandey. Action only against health officials is not enough. He can not escape responsibility. Why was the girl not treated at the Patna Medical College & Hospital? How insensitive is the health department under Mangal Pandey?'
Speaking to ThePrint, a BJP state vice-president said, 'In Bihar's caste politics, Prashant Kishor may not be a big threat to the NDA, but he can act as a spoiler. Earlier, we assumed he would damage the RJD, but now he attacks Nitish Kumar, Narendra Modi, and ministers, one by one.'
'Since RJD, BJP, and JD(U) cannot give tickets to every aspirant, those left out may join Jan Suraaj. In elections, even 5,000 votes can determine victory or defeat. That is why he can be another Chirag Paswan in 2025. The BJP has started attacking Prashant Kishor to limit damage. Our biggest asset is our governance record, which he has also been targeting—this could be challenging,' the BJP state V-P said.
The fight for Dalit votes
Another flashpoint is the NDA's ticket aspirants. The latest case involved influencer Manish Kashyap, inducted before the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi by Bhojpuri star-turned-leader Manoj Tiwari. The social media influencer with 8.75 million YouTube followers met the BJP president when joining the party.
Kashyap, however, was later beaten at the Patna Medical College & Hospital and left the BJP, accusing its leaders of not giving him space and humiliating him. He is set to join Prashant Kishor's party on 23 June and is ready to contest from the Chanpatia assembly seat, a BJP stronghold.
Another Bhojpuri star, Pawan Singh, who helped the INDIA bloc candidate to defeat Upendra Kushwaha in the Lok Sabha election, is also in talks with Jan Suraaj.
According to BJP leaders, in the upcoming state polls, every party is trying to capture the Dalit votes, from Rahul Gandhi to Chirag Paswan and RJD. The NDA alliance is also trying to expand its share. In recent weeks, Prashant Kishor has raised the Dalit child rape issue, targeted Chirag Paswan and Ashok Choudhary, and engaged with established Dalit leaders to enter Dalit constituencies.
'He belongs to the upper caste, so he is attacking Mangal Pandey. He has traction among the youth. We are aware of the challenge of vote fragmentation. We aim to consolidate them,' according to the BJP leaders.
Talking about election prospects, Bihar BJP General Secretary Jagannath Thakur told The Print, 'Voters who have already seen development under the NDA and want more of it will vote for the BJP. We aim to prevent the split of these development-driven votes.'
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: JD(U) suffers setback in Seemanchal as Mujahid Alam quits over endorsement of waqf act amendments
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