Prashant Kishor shuns party plans for now, announces 3,000-km padyatra
What's the story
Political strategist Prashant Kishor Thursday announced a 3,000-kilometer-long padayatra or a march in Bihar from October 2 onwards. While Kishor did not make any announcement of a new political party--as speculated by many--he, however, maintained that he would dedicate himself to building a new dispensation in Bihar. This comes after Kishor's tweet on Monday, saying it was "time to go to the Real Masters."
Context
Why does this story matter?
The padayatra is seen as Kishor's attempt to start a new stint in Bihar. Notably, he had previously worked with Nitish Kumar and even joined Kumar's Janata Dal (United) in 2018. However, he was expelled from the party in January 2020. Last week, Kishor also declined Congress's offer to join its new Empowered Action Group 2024.
Details
'Want to reach out to as many people as possible'
Speaking on the subject of forming a new political party, Kishor did not deny it entirely. He stated that he has no plans for a political party as of now since there are no elections in Bihar in near future. "I will spend the next three-four years reaching out to people," he added. Kishor will start his padayatra from Gandhi Ashram in West Champaran.
Congress
Kishor was in talks with Congress
Lately, Kishor had been in talks with the Gandhis to join Congress. He also held a series of deliberations with top Congress leaders and presented a multi-point strategy to rejuvenate the party. However, it did not materialize, and he declined Congress's offer to join its new Empowered Action Group 2024 to work for the party in the run-up to the 2024 general elections.
Twitter Post
Check Kishor's tweet declining to join Congress
I declined the generous offer of #congress to join the party as part of the EAG take responsibility for the elections.
— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) April 26, 2022
In my humble opinion, more than me the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep rooted structural problems through transformational reforms.
Development
Kishor had tweeted hinting a new start
After declining to join Congress, Kishor had tweeted--"time to go to the Real Masters, the people, to better understand the issues and the path to 'Jan Swaraj' or Peoples Good Governance." He had stated that he will start his journey from Bihar. He also mentioned that he has completed 10 years as an active participant in democracy to "help shape pro-people policy."