Prashant Kishor, popularly known as PK, is a very familiar name in Indian politics. He is a political strategist who has successfully helped various political leaders and parties win their elections. His journey from the small village of Bihar to becoming a top political strategist is both interesting and significant.
Parents:
Prashant Kishor hailed from the village of Konar, Rohtas district, Bihar. He was the son of Buxar-based doctor Prashant Kishor; his mother, Sushila Pandey, was a homemaker. Prashant Kishor belonged to a humble background wherein values were inculcated from rural life itself. These early experiences played an important role in shaping him as a politician and in general life.
Wife and Children:
He is married to Jahnavi Das. Jahnavi is a doctor by profession and has a son named Daibik. Often, Prashant Kishor can be seen taking his wife to non-political events as well.
Education and United Nations Career:
Kishor attended various government schools in Bihar as postings of his father used to be changed at times. Later, he studied for his higher secondary from Patna Science College. His period of study here helped him have strong analytical capabilities, which became important work later on for him.He joined Delhi University’s Hindu College to study statistics after a two-year gap, but was not able to complete his graduation because of his health problem. After another gap of two years, he shifted to Lucknow and then completed his post-graduation from Hyderabad.
He was then taken into public health work and served with the United Nations for eight years. It was there that he spent time working with the United Nations, traveling all across India to Hyderabad and Bihar and other parts of India for eradication programs of polio.
He then traveled to the US to serve with UN headquarters and then worked as a Division head in Chad, an African Country.
As a Political Strategist:
After writing a research paper about the situation of malnutrition in higher-income states of India, which included Gujarat too, he came into contact with Narendra Modi when Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at that time.In 2011, Prashant Kishor stepped foot into political strategy by supporting Narendra Modi in his re-election to the position of Chief Minister of Gujarat. Kishor’s campaigning style innovatively focused on understanding behavioral patterns of voters, helped Modi win re-election successfully. This laid the beginning for Kishor into politics.
Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG):
His life has marked a significant incident-the general elections of 2014. In this election, he founded Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), which greatly influenced the Prime Ministerial Election of Narendra Modi. Narendra Modi conducted his campaign by introducing newer and innovative ideas such as “Chai Pe Charcha,” 3D rallies, and a lot more use of social networking sites. That’s the reason BJP won so overwhelmingly.
Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC):
Following the success of the 2014 elections, Kishor founded the Indian Political Action Committee, I-PAC. The organization soon became a key player in Indian politics, working for various political parties across India. One of I-PAC’s most significant victories was in the 2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, where Kishor’s strategy helped Nitish Kumar win the election, focusing once again on the “Saat Nischay” campaign, which was development and good governance.
Apart from election strategy, Kishor has worked as an advisor to Bihar Chief Minister after the elections of 2015 Bihar. In this job, he planned and executed different programmes, mostly those announced at election time.
Formation of Jan Suraj:
In 2022, Prashant Kishor made a bold decision and founded Jan Suraj, a political platform meant to change Bihar. It made him shift from being the strategist to the leader. Good Governance is the name “Jan Suraj” in a way has been addressed with poverty and illiteracy, unemployment and corruption in Bihar as three underlying ideas of the platform. The right people, right thinking, and right effort are reflected in this by Kishor himself about work together and good governance ethics.
Net Worth:
Estimated by 2024 Prashant Kishor has not published his worth. However, it will certainly be a decent amount taking into account the long tenure that he had in his career.
Conclusion:
This marks the beginning of many strategic successes and contributions to be made on the path that Prashant Kishor will take, traveling from the small village in Bihar to this very moment being a highly influential figure in Indian politics. He works through various political parties, even creating something like Jan Suraj that reflects his devotion towards political change and better governance.
Leave a Reply