Is Prashant Kishor responsible for the Chirag uprising in Bihar?

The BJP believes poll strategist Prashant Kishor – who was once close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then to JD (U) president Nitish Kumar – is the man guiding Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan in his attempt to disrupt the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) boat in Bihar assembly polls.

Chirag Paswan’s disdain for Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and the consequent split in the NDA, has put the BJP in a fix which is looking for reasons to pacify JD (U) and prove that it is not behind Paswan junior’s decision to go alone in the Bihar polls.

Nitish Kumar is already upset with the BJP’s refusal to act against Chirag, who is contesting separately from the NDA. What the JD (U) fails to understand is that Chirag Paswan cannot get this far without the support of BJP.

Chirag poked Nitish once again when he tweeted thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his support after his father Ram Vilas Paswan’s death. There was no mention of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the NDA’s CM face in Bihar.

आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री @narendramodi जी द्वारा पापा की अंतिम यात्रा में किए गए सहयोग के लिए हृदय से आभार।सर आपने पापा की अंतिम यात्रा के लिए सभी व्यवस्था बिना माँगे की।बेटे के तौर पर मैं एक मुश्किल समय से गुजर रहा हूँ।आप के साथ से हिम्मत और हौसला दोनो बढ़ा है।

— युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) October 11, 2020

BJP leaders in Bihar, under criticism from ally JD (U) for not acting tough against Chirag Paswan publicly, believe Prashant Kishor is mentoring the LJP leader.

Prashant Kishor is away from Bihar since February, but BJP leaders like Sushil Modi have hinted that he is controlling Chirag Paswan to get even with Nitish Kumar, who had once appointed Kishor as his deputy CM.

Nitish Kumar had to sack Prashant Kishor earlier this year after he publicly attacked him over a range of subjects.

Prashant Kishor has denied BJP’s charge. “It’s a deliberate strategy to fool Nitish Kumar, who must have seen through the BJP game plan. Can Bihar BJP leaders explain who was holding talks on seat-sharing with Chirag? Wasn’t it Amit Shah and JP Nadda? Isn’t it a fact that Chirag had various sessions with Amit Shah and Nadda before he took his decision,” Kishor told NDTV.

Also read: The Paswan factor will play a big role in Bihar elections

Kishor asked the BJP top leadership to explain why with so many Bihar BJP rebels joining Chirag Paswan, he is still not out of the NDA. Even BJP leaders secretly admit that Chirag Paswan’s decision to go alone and their party’s inaction against him are confusing the voters.