Nitish Kumar says Prashant Kishor is the future: Political realignment on the cards in Bihar?

Prashant Kishor says 'Yes, I'm here to join'; Bihar CM and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar says 'he is the future'. What does this mean for Bihar and beyond?

With renowned poll strategist Prashant Kishor joining the JD(U) it is expected that the party will get a big fillip in terms of a new model of governance which he has been trying to execute since the heady days of 2014 when he helped Narendra Modi become Prime Minister. At that time, he had fallen out with Amit Shah and had to part ways with the BJP. With Nitish Kumar's party, however, he may yet get a reprieve.

With his latest coup, Nitish will now surely have a more aggressive and wider outreach on media and social media platforms. And additionally, since Kishor has now raked up invaluable experience and contacts having worked with the BJP, JD(U) and the Congress, Nitish Kumar will have a Man Friday who can bargain hard in terms of seat-sharing for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

While sources indicate that the seat-sharing between on again-off again allies BJP and JD(U) may be finalised imminently, it hasn't been a smooth process, with Nitish's party demanding to play the 'big brother' role in the general elections. However, the BJP is said to want to contest 20 seats, leaving just 20 others for three parties -- the JD(U), Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP and Upendra Kushwaha's RSLP. This is unacceptable to the JD(U). Adding elements on both sides of the equation, Prashant Kishor is very close to both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, having been a part of the Congress' winning Punjab assembly 2017 campaign, and simultaneously, the dismal Uttar Pradesh elections performance. Accordingly, if the seat-sharing arrangement between the JD(U) and BJP were to fail, Prashant Kishor may be perfectly placed to work out some form of arrangement with the Congress president.

As per sources, Rahul Gandhi is very keen on getting Nitish Kumar, his erstwhile ally, back on board. As per sources, there were some back-channel negotiations directly between the two party leaders about two months ago. As things stand, the politics of Bihar is on a sticky wicket since Nitish parted ways with Lalu Prasad demanding the ouster of the latter's son Tejashwi after the CBI raided his premises. Nitish is clear that he doesn't want to get on board with Lalu -- who appears to still be an ally of the Congress. Hence, negotiations haven't yielded results so far. 

Sources added that Prashant Kishor will be entrusted with a top party responsibility and may also be inducted in Nitish's council of ministers. Kishor has made frequent trips to Patna for political discussions with Nitish Kumar. It is said that ever since the JD(U) joined hands with the BJP last year, Nitish hasn't been comfortable over his view that Bihar got a raw deal in terms of demands pertaining to development projects. Now, with Prashant Kishor joining the JD(U), whether it is a signal of a new political realignment in Bihar or whether the BJP will accept Nitish's demands for a larger share in the seat-sharing for 2019 remains to be seen.