In a nation where political parties are a dime a dozen, the formation of a new party, Jan Suraaj, by election strategist Prashant Kishor from Patna might not necessarily be big news. His own high-profile political foray in Bihar in the good company of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a while ago ended in a whimper. His attempts to form a political party on his own repeatedly came to naught. But, considering his interest in politics and the clout he managed to build for himself, a fresh attempt is worth a try.
Politics in this country works on a formula built on simplicity and sincerity to the cause. Mahatma Gandhi was the first to gather crowds around him by upholding these two principles. Even as Gandhi developed a cult status, he presented himself in the form of an ordinary man, rustic in his dressing habits. Jawaharlal Nehru dressed in aristocratic style but won mass acceptance after the Gandhi era by virtue of the power he wielded and vision he displayed. Indira Gandhi claimed to uphold the cause of the poor through her Garibi Hatao slogan and won elections. Her bold support for acts like the creation of Bangladesh won her a cult status for some time, but she lost out briefly to the Total Revolution advocacy by Jaiprakash Narain. Narain’s appeal was to both the educated elite and the village folks. Men like Mulayam Singh and Lalu Prasad ‘Mandalised’ their states’ politics and reaped rich dividends due to their direct appeal to the poor. Mamata Banerjee’s politics is poor-centric. She posed as the ‘sister next-door’ and succeeded in political manoeuvring. In the South, those like Jayalalithaa kept the people on their side by promising and giving doles to the poor. In Odisha, Naveen Patnaik did the same and ruled the state for a quarter of a century uninterruptedly. Regional leaders made a success of themselves in all the southern states by directly appealing to the poor. In the north, the BJP won elections through the Hindutva slogan and PM Modi’s appeal to the poor. Tribe-oriented alignments are a norm in North-East politics.
Prashant Kishor’s appeal is different. It, rather, is to the educated elite that are influential but are no major vote banks. He talks sense in politics, where nonsense is rather the norm. Notably, the JP movement had drawn its first inspiration from the student community. He was too old but had a mesmerizing appeal among the youth, all those who were cut up with the ‘dictatorial’ styles of Indira Gandhi and the ordinary folks in the Hindi belt cutting across castes and communities. He was seen as a father figure by virtue of his Sarvodaya (wellbeing of all) movement, socialist principles and selfless services to the society for seven decades. Now, it remains to be seen whether, from the same Bihar, another leader in the form of Prashant Kishor could effectively challenge the establishment and create a niche for himself in national or regional politics.
