Political strategist-turned-aspirant neta Prashant Kishor has always been outspoken in his views. Whether it is his prescriptions for reviving the Congress or for creating an 'opposition front', Kishor has never shied away from voicing contrarian views.
In an event organised by The Indian Express on Tuesday, Kishor disagreed on the importance of the 'polarisation' narrative in elections.
Kishor told The Indian Express “This polarisation thing… it is much overhyped than what actually is on the ground. The methods of polarisation have changed, (but) how you used to polarise, say 15 years back, its impact is largely the same. And we have looked at the electoral data. What we call elections in the immediate aftermath of the most polarising events… we have found that you are not able to mobilise more than 50-55 per cent of the community, no matter what the polarising event was.”
Adding to his argument, Kishor noted “for every one Hindu who polarised and voted in favour of one party, there was one Hindu who was not polarised... A simple math student will tell you that… 38 per cent is the BJP vote share… less than half the Hindus are voting for the BJP.”
Kishor also emphasised the BJP's core “nationalism plank” could be countered by “sub-regionalism” in state elections.
However, Kishor conceded the BJP would remain a “formidable electoral party”. Kishor said “Once you secure 30 per cent plus votes at the India level, nobody can wish you away. It is not something which will come down on its own. That said, it doesn’t mean that they will continue to win every election. It means that, like for the first 40-50 years, politics in India (revolved) around the Congress—either you were with the Congress or opposed to the Congress—the next 20-30 years I see Indian politics revolving around the BJP. You are with the BJP or opposed to it,” Kishor told The Indian Express.
Kishor described as “wishful thinking” the hope that an opposition to the BJP would emerge by itself.
Congress mindset
Kishor argued the Congress felt it did not get media attention or traction even if it participated in street protests. “This shows the mindset, the DNA of a ruling party, which is yet to come to terms of being an opposition party. That is the fundamental problem I see in the thought process of the way the Congress responds to a situation,” Kishor said.
Opposition not sticking to issues?
Kishor argued opposition parties were not persisting with raising contentious issues against the Narendra Modi government. “Take Covid. A lot of people ask why, despite what we saw during Covid, there is no electoral setback (to the BJP). But where was the protest? Where is anything from the opposition that has lasted one year or two… like trying to carry the voice of the people who have suffered during Covid and holding the government accountable? You do a tweet here or a press conference there. That is not what mass protest is about,” Kishor said.
