No offer made to Prashant Kishor; he is working for BJP: JD(U) president
Patna, Sep 17: JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan on Saturday alleged that political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor was "working for" the BJP, as part of its "conspiracies" to find a firm foothold in Bihar.
Rubbishing Kishor's claim of having turned down an "offer" from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the party's de facto leader, Lalan asserted that the poll campaign manager was "not a political worker but a businessman" who relied on "marketing" tactics.
"We know Prashant Kishor has been working for the BJP for some time. One agent of the BJP was recently caught during magistrate checking," remarked the JD(U) chief, in an obvious reference to former national president RCP Singh.
"The BJP is relying on conspiracies in Bihar. First it used RCP Singh and now it is using Prashant Kishor. But we are vigilant. We will not allow these designs to succeed," Lalan said.
The JD(U) president's remarks come barely a few days after a meeting between Kumar and Kishor after which the latter claimed to have engaged in some plain-speak with the Bihar CM, having told him that prohibition, one of his most feted moves, was a complete failure and needed to be reviewed.
Kishor, who has launched a campaign 'Jan Suraaj' as part of which he will be embarking on a 3,500 km-long state-wide 'padayatra' next month, had also claimed to have turned down a "specified" offer from Kumar who, he believes, has run out of steam.
Lalan claimed, "It was Prashant Kishor who wanted to meet Nitish Kumar after the new political situation emerged in Bihar. He spoke to the CM who asked him to first have a word with the party president. So he came to meet me in New Delhi."
"I told him that his return to the party could be considered if he agreed to abide by party discipline. Thereafter he secured an appointment with the CM who agreed to meet him and gave an appointment. But, as part of his marketing strategy, he told the media that he has been called to the CM's residence but he will not go," claimed the JD(U) president.
"Later, after Pavan Varma met Nitish Kumar, the former also had a word with Kishor whom he knows. Kishor again expressed the wish to meet the CM and they met. But why will anybody give him any offer? Who is he?" said Lalan.
Notably, Kishor shot to fame in 2014 when his company IPAC handled the spectacularly successful campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then the Gujarat CM and the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate for Lok Sabha polls.
Kumar, whose party was drubbed, hired Kishor a year later when assembly polls were held in Bihar. Kumar's alliance with arch rival Lalu Prasad and Congress trounced the BJP despite an intensive campaign by the PM.
Kishor was subsequently appointed as an advisor to the Bihar CM, a post of cabinet minister rank, though he continued to work in professional capacity for other political figures.
In 2018, Kumar, who was then the JD(U) national president, inducted Kishor into the party and elevated him to the post of national vice president within weeks. However, Kishor's outspokenness against CAA-NPR-NRC led to his expulsion from the party in 2020, which was then an NDA ally.
Soon afterwards, Kishor had launched a campaign called "Baat Bihar Ki" which ran into an intellectual property rights legal dispute and was, subsequently, shelved. Kishor, who maintains that he gave up the previous project because of the COVID-19 pandemic, went on to manage West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's successful campaign in 2021 assembly polls.
After a long drawn out, but unsuccessful, negotiation with the Congress which he had promised to revamp if he joined as a full-time member and got a free hand, Kishor returned to Bihar earlier this year to launch 'Jan Suraaj' which he promises to develop into a "better political alternative" for the state.
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Marxism will remain relevant despite Left electoral's losses, says general secretary M A Baby
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby on Thursday asserted that the Left movement would remain relevant despite not being in power in any state, saying the ideology would continue to endure as long as social and economic inequalities persist.
Hitting back at BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar over his reported remarks that Marxism had become irrelevant, Baby, in an interview with PTI Videos, said, "So long as there is division in society, so long as there is exploitation of the majority of workers, peasants and ordinary masses by a handful of billionaires, Marxism will remain relevant."
"That perhaps Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar may not be able to understand, but this is the fact of the matter," he said.
Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M)-led Left was currently without an elected government in any state, but maintained that electoral setbacks would not diminish the movement's role.
"We may not have an elected government in any state. There were occasions when we didn't have a government. But the red flag and the commitment to organise and struggle for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalised and exploited will always be upheld by CPI(M) and the Left movement," he said.
He said the Left continued to enjoy support among workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, students and women, and argued that the movement remained necessary because "oppression and assault" continued in society.
"So long as such problems exist in society, the red flag and the working class movement will continue to work among the masses," the Left leader said.
Exuding confidence on the Left's revival, Baby said the party would reflect on the reasons behind its electoral loss.
"We may be rejected in one election, but we will stage our comeback by understanding what went wrong with us," he said, adding, "We will listen to people and we will come back with higher strength."
Baby also criticised the Congress over reported factional tensions in Kerala after the Congress-led United Democratic Front's victory in the state.
"The way they are behaving is being watched by the people of Kerala," he said, referring to infighting within the Congress.
"Those who have given a massive majority to Congress and UDF would be watching all this," he added, while urging party leaders to "settle the problem in an amicable, democratic manner".
Referring to West Bengal, Baby alleged that violence had escalated following the BJP's victory in the state assembly polls.
"It is quite unfortunate that the moment BJP snatched a massive victory in West Bengal, violence has also started on a big scale," he said.
He also accused the Trinamool Congress of being "notorious for violent activities" and alleged that the "RSS-controlled BJP" had "unleashed violence in many places" after the election results.
"This is not good for Bengal, not good for the country. We wish and hope that normalcy would be restored as soon as possible," he said.
Baby said the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal would continue efforts to "pacify people" and avoid violence and confrontation.
Asked about former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan not reacting publicly to the election results, Baby said Vijayan would respond "at an appropriate time".
