Bankipur By-Poll: Message Behind Prashant Kishore’s Victory

New Delhi: Prashant Kishore's victory is being described in the political circles as a "real master stroke and a strategic win" since Kishore himself is a well known poll strategist. Despite Cheif Minister Samrat choudhry's presence and Nitin Nabin's direction, along with the support of the offical machinery,PK defetaed the BJP leadership in their den.

This is the first by-election in the country after the NEET paper leak agitation led by Gen Z. Incidentally, in Bankipur assembly out of 3.69 lakh voters, Gen Z comprises  1.25 lakh. It is obvious, Gen Z factor swung the balance in PK's favour.

Though it is a caste ridden constituency,the victory seems to be positive as PK could touch the sentiment of the youth. Moreover, his party Jan Suraj's rout in the last assembly election,not winning a single seat,must have helped  as a sympathy vote.

The  by-election was a real acid test for both the Chief minister Choudhry as well as the party's national President Nitin Nabin, as they have to give much explanation  as to why they lost their own pocket borough seat for the last 20 years.

Certainly, the credibility and image of both the leaders, CM and BJP chief, have been eroded.

It is being said that former JDU Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's absence from the scene had its impact. This is the first election  in the last 20 years where Nitish Kumar is not in the picture as Bihar CM. It was his 'good governance with social justice and development' plank that had helped the NDA reap rich political dividend in Bihar.

Commenting  after establishing a massive lead in Bankipur, Prashant Kishore said that the bypoll result is a "message to the BJP" that a good person should be made CM in Bihar. It is not to make an MLA there but to send a message to the BJP that Bihar needs better leadership.