Tag: Prashant Kishor

  • Bihar on the move as Times Now’s Election Yatra hits the road

    Bihar on the move as Times Now’s Election Yatra hits the road

    MUMBAI: Forget bulletins from air-conditioned studios this election season, the news is on the move. As Bihar braces for a high-octane poll battle, Times Now and Times Now Navbharat is hitting the dusty roads and crowded gullies of the state with Election Yatra, a roving newsroom covering 4500 km across 28 districts to capture democracy in its rawest, most unfiltered form.

    Beyond the familiar rhythm of Litti Chokha and Madhubani art, Bihar is a land forever rewriting its story restless, young, and hungry for change. With nearly 58 per cent of its people under 25 and a burgeoning MSME sector generating over 6 lakh jobs across 15 plus industries, the state is quietly shaking off stereotypes, one enterprise at a time. And now, as it heads into one of the most closely watched elections in the post-Operation Sindoor and new GST era, the spotlight burns brighter than ever.

    From Patna’s bustling lanes to Begusarai’s fiery campaign grounds, Times Now and Times Now Navbharat Election Yatra promises a front-row view of Bihar’s shifting political landscape. The mobile newsroom doubles as a studio, broadcasting straight from where conversations spark the chai stalls, the chowks, and the campaign caravans.

    This isn’t just another election coverage; it’s a 4500 km odyssey to decode the state’s complex identity, where nostalgia meets new narratives. Will Prashant Kishor’s experiment rewrite Bihar’s political math? Or will the familiar power blocs, the NDA and the Maha Gathbandhan hold fort once again?

    Under Mandate 2025, Times Now rolls out a power-packed programming slate that goes beyond headline politics.

    ● National Debate, airing from 11 October every Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, brings sharp minds together to dissect Bihar’s biggest issues.

    ● Inside, a documentary-style weekend special also launching 11 October at 11:30 am, delves deep into the forces shaping the polls.

    ●  Access, another new format, shadows key candidates through the campaign trail, offering an unfiltered, insider’s view of life behind the loudspeakers.

    Times Now Navbharat’s mobile hydraulic canter transforms into a full-fledged studio on-ground. The channel also has come up with a strategically designed lineup captures the pulse of Bihar as it heads into a historic Assembly election. Babua E Bihar Ba presently airing at 11:30 am & 7:30 pm every day, brings a travelogue-style journey across the state, interacting with locals keeping authentic linguistic charm. Further on Reporter Vs Reporter Season 2, returns to present both sides of every story: balanced, accurate, and fair, directly from Bihar’s heartland.

    “Bihar has always been the hotbed of political movements, a laboratory for national experiments,” said Times Now and Times Now Navbharat group editor-in-chief Navika Kumar. “This will be the first big test for voter sentiment post Operation Sindoor and the Opposition’s vote chori campaign. With new entrants like Prashant Kishor shaking up old equations, our teams will be on the ground to track every tremor of change.”

    She added that Times Now’s election coverage stands apart for its “depth, reach, and credibility”, ensuring that viewers don’t just watch the election, they understand it.

    As November 13 brings the Poll of Polls and Exit Poll, Times Now’s analytical engine will decode voter moods and seat projections with surgical precision. The Counting Day special on November 14 promises minute-by-minute updates as results unfold across the state, each number a reflection of not just votes, but voices.

    From Hajipur’s bylanes to Patna’s university corridors, Bihar’s democracy is as earthy as its soil and as unpredictable as its politics. Through Election Yatra, Times Now doesn’t just report the story, it travels with it, kilometre by kilometre, capturing the sounds, the sights, and the soul of India’s most fascinating electoral theatre.

  • Bihar turns centre stage as India News Manch 2025 fuels poll fire

    Bihar turns centre stage as India News Manch 2025 fuels poll fire

    MUMBAI: Democracy had its loudest drumroll in Patna as India News Manch 2025 lit up Hotel Maurya with a day-long spectacle of fiery speeches, charged debates, and political one-upmanship. Billed as Bihar’s grandest political conclave yet, the event didn’t just host discussions, it set the narrative for the state’s fiercely awaited 2025 assembly elections.

    From the opening mantrochchar by Pandit Dr. Ranjit Narayan Tiwari to the final curtain call, the conclave was a political marathon that gripped audiences both in Patna and nationwide. The dais was nothing short of a power parade: Deputy CMs Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, veteran voices Ravi Shankar Prasad and Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, challenger-in-chief Tejashwi Yadav, strategist Prashant Kishor, and a chorus of leaders including Mukesh Sahani, Upendra Kushwaha, Ashok Choudhary, and Shambhavi Choudhary.

    Each session packed in headlines of its own. The debate titled “क्या PK का परचम लहराएगा?” turned into a spirited battle over Prashant Kishor’s political roadmap. The NDA vs INDIA clash lived up to its billing, with sparks flying as party representatives went head-to-head. And Sachchidanand Rai’s session, rooted in his IIT and industrialist background, struck a chord as he spotlighted youth, industry, and Bihar’s developmental trajectory.

    But the Manch wasn’t just politics, it was culture too. Bhojpuri stars Ritesh Pandey and Gunjan Singh brought the flavour of Bihar’s art and entertainment into the mix, reminding the audience that the state’s identity is as much about music and cinema as it is about manifestos and mandates.

    “This conclave shaped narratives and presented Bihar’s politics in its raw, unfiltered form,” said India News managing editor for input Rakesh Singh adding that Patna had never before seen such a convergence of power and ideology. Echoing this, Dr. Aishwarya Pandit Sharma, Founder of Itv Foundation, called it “a democratic celebration like no other,” emphasising how the conclave connected citizens directly with decision-makers.

    With India News Manch 2025 drawing over a dozen heavyweight leaders and thousands of engaged viewers, the conclave has firmly cemented Patna as the crucible of India’s electoral pulse, a place where not just Bihar’s, but the nation’s political future is being scripted.

  • Bihar’s big Baithak stirs poll pot with politics, policy and plenty of punch

    Bihar’s big Baithak stirs poll pot with politics, policy and plenty of punch

    MUMBAI: When Bihar talks, the nation listens and this time, it’s over a Baithak. Bihar Tak, the digital-first news platform from the India Today group, set Patna buzzing today with its flagship event ‘Bihar Tak Baithak’, a no-holds-barred adda of power, policy and politics.

    With Assembly elections looming later this year, the stage was stacked with heavy hitters and fresh voices alike. From JDU’s executive national president Sanjay Jha to BJP’s Nitin Nabin, Jan Suraj founder Prashant Kishor to RLM supremo Upendra Kushwaha, the Baithak read like Bihar’s who’s who of political strategy. Cabinet ministers Jeevesh Mishra, Ashok Choudhary, and Santosh Manjhi joined the conversation, alongside development commissioner S. Siddharth, VIP chief Mukesh Sahani, MP Shambhavi Choudhary, and former union minister Shahnawaz Hussain.

    What unfolded was a marathon of candid interviews, debates and panel discussions on governance, development and the state’s election agenda straight talk for a state hungry for answers. “Bihar Tak Baithak reflects our commitment to amplifying voices from the heart of Bihar,” said TAK Channels Milind managing editor Khandekar. “As the state heads towards a pivotal election, the need for transparent, meaningful conversations is greater than ever.”

    The event, watched by an audience both in Patna and online, offered a digital bridge between policy and people, with every exchange streamed on the Bihar Tak Youtube channel. With more than a dozen leaders, ministers and influencers in the hot seat, this Baithak wasn’t just small talk, it was Bihar talking to itself and to India.
     

  • Nine state results will decide Modi govt’s stability: Prashant Kishor on Aap Ki Adalat

    Nine state results will decide Modi govt’s stability: Prashant Kishor on Aap Ki Adalat

    Mumbai: Election strategist and Jan Suraaj Party co-ordinator Prashant Kishor has said that assembly elections in nine states in the next one year will decide the course and stability of prime minister Narendra Modi’s NDA government.

    Replying to questions from Rajat Sharma in the Aap Ki Adalat show, telecasted on India TV, Prashant Kishor said, “Results in nine state assembly elections, J&K, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Assam, will decide the stability of this government. These results will also decide the direction this government will take. If BJP loses in five or six out of these nine states, definitely the question of stability will become an issue.”

    2024 Lok Sabha results

    Describing the 2024 Lok Sabha results as ‘a good one’, Prashant Kishor said, “People have sent a clear message to Modi asking him to run the government. They have also conveyed to him that ‘You Are Not God’…run the government, but not as a dictator, run the government like a democratic leader. People have given the message to Modi that he should run the government carefully.”

    On prospects of Rahul Gandhi emerging as a forceful alternative to Modi, Prashant Kishor said, “As a leader, Rahul Gandhi has miles to go before he reaches a stage where we can say that he has indeed arrived. But yes, Congress as a party has done better than most people expected, including me, and to that extent, we must give credit to Rahul Gandhi. In this election, Rahul has established himself as the leader of Congress, and none others can claim that stature in the party for the next five to ten years. But to establish himself as a leader of the country, he has a long way to go. Winning 99 seats is one thing, and winning 250 to 260 seats is another.”

    Prashant Kishor gave an analogy about 1977, when the then PM Indira Gandhi lost the Lok Sabha elections and Congress had won 154 Lok Sabha seats, and this time, Congress has won 99 under Rahul’s leadership. “Rahul should get the credit for bringing revival of Congress”, he said.

    The poll strategist said, “The opposition now seems to be appearing more cohesive as a unit. This is a good thing for democracy. At least Parliament is having good debates. ..We should applaud their efforts in setting their own narrative in a coordinated manner.”

    Jan Suraaj Party

    Prashant Kishor, planning to launch his Jan Suraaj Party in Bihar on 2 October, said, “The biggest beneficiaries of this year’s Lok Sabha election are parties like us who are offering an alternative to the voters. If the BJP had won 350 to 400 seats, they would not have allowed us to work in Bihar…The opposition will never become weak in a country like India, where more than 60 crore people earn less than Rs 100 per day. No amount of ads, or PR through Facebook, YouTube can impress them. They are not your bonded laborers.”

    The poll strategist said that BJP would continue to be the political axis on the national scene for the next 25 to 30 years, irrespective of whether it wins or loses elections. “The Congress was the political axis from 1950 till 1990, and there has been a clear shift of this axis from Congress to BJP”, he said.

    Prashant Kishor admitted that his assessment of BJP winning 300 Lok Sabha seats this time proved wrong. “Those who make political assessment are not gods”, he said.

    Citing reasons, Prashant Kishor said, “One of my six assessments for the elections proved wrong. BJP’s vote share remained at 36 per cent, though there was a 0.7 per cent drop. My assessment was, it should have won 300 seats, but it won 240. The intensity of support that Modi got in 2014 and 2019 was lesser this time. On the ground level, rural distress, farmers’ problems and growing inequality was one of the reasons. Uttar Pradesh politics has become a big challenge for BJP and RSS, irrespective of numbers. I admit I made a mistake in assessment. When there is a strong government, there is a fear factor that develops. A wrong perception developed.”

    Asked whether BJP made a mistake by coining the slogan ‘Ab Ki Baar, 400 Paar’, Prashant Kishor replied, “The slogan was good, but it was completed not by BJP, but by the opposition. The opposition succeeded in projecting that the BJP wanted 400 seats in order to amend the Constitution and end caste reservation. All credit goes to the opposition. Some loudmouthed BJP leaders also said the party would change the Constitution after winning 400 seats.”

    On whether the use of words like mujra, mangalsutra by Modi during electioneering could be one of the reasons, Prashant Kishor said, “BJP core supporters never expected such words from the prime minister considering the imagery that was created over the last 10 years about Modi. Instead of galvanizing the cadres, it disappointed them. In some places, it caused panic.”

    Yogi and Modi

    Asked whether the electoral losses in UP were due to reported differences between Yogi Adityanath and Amit Shah,  Prashant Kishor replied, “I do not see it as personal rivalry. But if you see from a wider perspective, I can cite the example of 2009 LS elections. At that time, Modi was chief minister of Gujarat and L K Advani was the party’s national leader. In 2009, BJP did not do well in Gujarat, but I am not saying Modi’s supporters sabotaged Advani’s campaign.  The message that went through was that if Advani won, then our leader Modi will take more time to become PM.  Maybe this was what happened in Uttar Pradesh this time.”

    Prashant Kishor said, “Some people felt that if Modi and Amit Shah won a huge majority, Yogi may lose his chair. What Kejriwal said about Yogi at that time clicked. Even in Bihar, during my padyatra, people asked me whether Yogi would be removed if BJP won 400 seats. It is not that Yogi may have told his supporters to defeat BJP candidates. This is not my topic and I normally do not speak on such matters. But the message surely went out among Yogi’s supporters.”

    Asked whether the arrest of two chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren impacted the elections, Prashant Kishor replied negatively. “I don’t think so. Had it been so, BJP would have been swept off in Jharkhand. Instead, BJP faced losses in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. If Hemant Soren’s arrest could have caused tremors, then the biggest losses to BJP would have been in Bihar and Jharkhand.”

    On the Bihar results, Prashant Kishor said, “Lalu phenomenon is the biggest factor in Bihar for the last 25-30 years.  A large section of voters in Bihar, who have seen the jungle raj for 15 years during RJD rule, will never vote for Lalu. Nitish Kumar won 12 LS seats only because of this Lalu factor.”