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COVER STORY NOVEMBER 21, 2025 | The Indian Eye 6

PRASHANT KISHOR

When a Master Strategist Misread

the Terrain He Once Mapped

The architect of India’s most successful election campaigns discovered, in Bihar 2025,

that strategy without structure is no match for entrenched politics

OUR BUREAU He crafted Modi’s ascent, helped
Nitish defeat Modi’s momentum in
Patna
2015, revived Amarinder Singh, and
rashant Kishor entered the powered victories in Andhra, Tamil
Bihar election like a master Nadu and West Bengal. His under-
Pchess player stepping onto a standing of messaging, data and vot-
kabaddi field — armed with strategy, er behaviour is unmatched.
precision, data and design, but facing But Bihar 2025 was not a puzzle
a game that rewards instinct, agility, to solve; it was a brawl to survive.
and ground muscle. For a decade, he His brief stint in JDU — elevat-
had shaped victories for others from ed directly to National Vice President
behind the curtain. But 2025 was the — had already shown how his top-
first time he stepped into the arena down approach irked traditional cad-
himself, not as an architect but as a res. His opposition to the Citizenship
contender. It was here, on Bihar’s Amendment Act ended that chapter
unforgiving political terrain, that the abruptly, and Jan Suraaj was born
gulf between meticulous theory and from his desire for deeper, long-term
chaotic reality snapped sharply into engagement. He spent months on Bi-
focus. har’s roads, understanding grievanc-
Kishor’s belief was that he could es, promising transformation.
build an alternative brick by brick: a But deep listening is not the
3,000-km padyatra, policy blueprints, Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishore (File photo) same as deep embedding.
dashboards, survey teams, thematic In the final weeks, Kishor’s social
campaigns, and a grand, long-term media engagement surged. His can-
mission under the banner of “Jan disciplined organisation; Kishor built macy even before fighting for votes. didates — a mix of Bhojpuri singers,
Suraaj.” But the party he tried to a mission but not a machine. AAP Yet at the heart of the campaign bureaucrats, academics, and defec-
build ran before it learned to stand. transformed volunteers into cadres; stood a paradox: Kishor refused to tors — brought visibility. Many be-
And in what he called the “mother Jan Suraaj transformed curiosity into contest. The strategist-turned-leader lieved Jan Suraaj would emerge as a
of all elections,” that proved fatal. applause. AAP decentralised lead- argued that running from Raghopur serious force.
His famous remark that Jan Suraaj ership; Jan Suraaj had just one face. would distract him from building the The results were a rude awaken-
would end up “arsh par ya farsh par” Anger became energy for Kejriwal; party. But for voters, the message ing. Jan Suraaj failed to win a single
— sky-high or in the dust — landed for Kishor, it became interest with- was damaging: the man asking for seat. In many constituencies, JSP
exactly where he feared. out commitment. their trust would not put himself on candidates barely registered. Mean-
From the beginning, a familiar Movements win hearts. Ma- the ballot. while, Nitish Kumar’s JDU — which
narrative swirled around Kishor: the chines win elections. Kishor built Combined with his sweeping Kishor had predicted would be rout-
next Arvind Kejriwal. Like the Delhi the former but needed the latter. predictions — that Jan Suraaj would ed — gained 41 more seats than 2020.
Chief Minister in 2013, he appeared On the ground, Jan Suraaj’s cam- either sweep or collapse — the cam- A strategist who once predicted
as the outsider armed with policy paign struck the right intellectual paign acquired a reputation for vola- India’s political tides had misread his
plans, anti-establishment rhetoric, notes but struggled with basic organi- tility, even before polling day. own home turf.
and a promise of new political gram- sational footing. When Kishor accused Imagine a magnificent archi- Kishor had earlier said he
mar. His padyatra echoed AAP’s the BJP of squeezing his party out of tectural blueprint with no bricks, no had committed ten years to Bihar.
mohalla meetings — slow, deliberate the contest — claiming that three workers, no scaffold. That was Jan Whether he retains the appetite af-
trust-building at the grassroots. His candidates were pressured to with- Suraaj. When the party released its ter this crushing defeat remains to
clean-governance pitch, his critique draw, even naming Amit Shah and first list of 51 candidates, Kishor’s be seen. For now, only his state pres-
of old caste matrices, and his tech- Dharmendra Pradhan — it was both name was absent. Even senior lead- ident has spoken: “Perhaps we could
nocratic language added fuel to the a tactical accusation and a psycholog- ers admitted they struggled to explain not make people understand. We will
idea that Bihar had found its educat- ical blow. One candidate, he claimed, what Jan Suraaj really was and what start again.”
ed disruptor. was kept “occupied” for an entire it wanted to achieve. “People failed If Jan Suraaj survives, it will be
But the comparison, in hind- day to prevent him from filing pa- to understand us, and we also failed because Kishor learns the hardest
sight, exposed the very gap that pers. The constituencies — Danapur, to make them understand,” said Bi- lesson in Indian politics: strategy is a
undid Jan Suraaj. Kejriwal built a Brahampur, Gopalganj — became har JSP president Manoj Bharti. compass, not a vehicle. You still need
movement that quickly evolved into a symbols of a party fighting for legiti- Kishor’s resume is unparalleled. wheels, roads, hands, and hearts.

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