What were the reasons for the fall out with Modi?

Kishor said, “I was impatient. I wanted to get things moving at my pace. He was new as the PM. If I was in his place, I would probably have done the same. I would have been more bothered about understanding and consolidating. When you are the PM you have 10,000 things to worry about. You don’t want to unnecessarily create something which is new, which could be transformational, which may have even had your blessings and it was coming from someone whom you trusted. My joining Modi or my breaking away from Modi just had to do with what happened between Modi and me. There was no third person involved, contrary to what some may believe; it had nothing to do with Amit Shah.”

What does it take to design and execute an electoral campaign?

“I choose who I want to work with. Whether it was Bihar’s Nitish Kumar kay ‘saat nischay’, Punjab’s Captain ‘kay nau’, Delhi’s Kejriwal ‘kay dus’, through the campaign we made the leader repeatedly commit to those specific promises.” Kishor realised that no electorate goes through the manifesto but this tangible, quantifiable method of enumerating the chief concerns of the voters had greater benefits than an elaborate campaign.

On Modi, West Bengal, and Being a Gandhian: What Makes Prashant Kishor Tick?

With the West Bengal assembly elections next year, there is a perceptible change in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s demeanour. From someone who never hesitated to stridently shoot her mouth off, there is now a newfound restraint. This transformation is being attributed to Prashant Kishor, someone who is perceived as the whiz-kid of electioneering.

His detractors may dismiss him as the flavour of the season, but with a string of huge electoral triumphs behind him, Kishor’s contribution can’t quite easily be brushed aside: Gujarat 2012, Lok Sabha elections 2014, Bihar 2015, Punjab 2017, and the landslide victory in Delhi this year.

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Topics: Mamata Banerjee Prashant Kishor Mamata Banerjee vs Narendra Modi

Published: 12 Mar 2020, 12:33 PM IST

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On Modi, Bengal, and Being a ‘Gandhian’: Prashant Kishor’s Journey

The man behind Modi’s win in 2014, Prashant Kishor, shares his journey with senior journalist Payal Mohanka.

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from opinion

Topics: Mamata Banerjee Prashant Kishor Mamata Banerjee vs Narendra Modi