The news is official today, that of Prashant Kishore being roped in as the poll strategist for the TMC party in West Bengal. It seems that the basic methods all along employed, like booth capturing, false voting and preventing opponents from casting their votes are no more as easy. The Central Government, uniquely opposed to the West Bengal for four decades or more, had deployed the para-military all over, ending the usual frills for any ruling party.
The EVMs too, despite the whining, threats, and petitions to courts by political opponents failed to stand the legal scrutiny. The flood of money into the elections seems unabated, but much of it was pouring into the coffers of the national parties, and the ruling one at that. (I will though write on the electoral bonds separately.)
Mamata Banerjee, the CM, entirely in charge of affairs in West Bengal, seems to be on slippery ground, yielding 18 seats to BJP in the current Lok Sabha elections. It could have been dismissed as an aberration, considering the feeble margin with which BJP had won and which could have been reversed with some severe course correction until 2021, the state Assembly elections.
That, however, was not to be so, because of the defections, which Didi is not used to at all. She has engineered defections from all the opponents, rewarding them with plum posts as Ministers to seats in the Panchayat Boards. That has just reversed, as the BJP is now capturing one after another Municipality Board and Panchayats. Leaders have defected from Trinamool, defeating official candidates. The position indeed seems scary and unsustainable, despite the public show of vanity and valour.
Here comes Prashant Kishore, the health activist working in Chad in 2010, has come a significant way, ever since scripting Modi’s Gujarat win in 2012 and the 2014 General elections. The famous ‘Chai pe Charcha,’ and the 3D Holograms of Modi simultaneously in 54 locations were his idea. He walked out of BJP and partnered with Nitish Kumar to yet again register a big win, showing Bihar’s strongman Lalu Yadav the door. Extensive and intensive voter-reach has been the secret of all his strategy.
Prashant’s magic failed to work in the UP local elections as the BJP drubbed Congress with a 300 to 7. India was never devoid of weak starters, but with deep pockets, like Jagan Mohan Reddy, who sought the advice of Prashant. Prashant worked intensely in Andhra Pradesh with Jagan pulverizing Chandra Babu Naidu and his Prime Ministerial ambitions. The win was so phenomenal, Kishore has returned to the limelight and is a much sought-after strategist yet again, this time from Mamata.
Kishore does a booth to booth research, on the nature of the voters and in particular their caste or community orientations. West Bengal, fortunately, has discarded the caste leanings, thanks to the 34 years of the left rule and the spread of communist philosophy. The mish-mash of many men as atheists and their wives staunchly religious is confusing to understand by outside strategists. Coming to communities, in plain speak Muslims, BJP will be just waiting for every slip Mamata would be making, with or without Kishore’s advice.
For a leader, who still commands a significant following, Mamata doesn’t need a strategist but has to stop being boorish and turn civilized like in the early years of her reign.
To me, the money spent on him is like mixing asafetida in the ocean. It will not add any flavour!
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
