Nitish elevates Kishor as JD(U)'s vice president
New Delhi, Oct 16 : Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar appointed Prashant Kishor as the party's vice president Tuesday, effectively making him the second most powerful person in the party over a month after he joined it.
Having worked for a number of parties as a poll strategist, Kishor has emerged as a trusted aide to the Bihar chief minister who would count on his relations across party lines and campaign skills to steer the JD(U) to success in the Lok Sabha polls.
Party spokesperson K C Tyagi said Kishor's appointment would help it reach out to social segments outside its traditional support base as he counted his skills and past track record as a valuable asset for the Bihar-based party.
He will help the party chart a new course outside the traditional methods of socialist politics, Tyagi said.
However, the rapid rise of Kishor, who is in his early 40s, is likely to cause heartburn among JD(U)'s senior leaders as Kumar has come to rely increasingly on him for managing the party's political affairs.
Kishor was associated with the successful prime ministerial bid of Narendra Modi during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Feeling sidelined, he then worked for the JD(U)-RJD-Congress grand alliance in Bihar, which delivered the BJP a humiliating defeat in the 2015 assembly polls. He consequently worked for the Congress in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
However, Kishor was seen to be warming up to the BJP again with reports that he had met its senior leaders.
JD(U) sources said Kumar believes that Kishor's skills can help him navigate the alliance politics at a time when the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its president Amit Shah is seen to be ceding little ground to its allies.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
