NEW DELHI: Political strategist turned activist Prashant Kishor accused Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar of compromising his integrity by “touching the feet” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to maintain his position of power. Kishor made these allegations while addressing a public meeting in Bhagalpur on Friday as part of his ‘Jan Suraaj’ campaign.
“People ask me why I am now criticising Nitish Kumar, having worked with him in the past.He was a different man back then. His conscience had not been put up for sale,” said Kishor, who managed Kumar’s election campaign for JD(U) in 2015 and formally joined the party two years later.
Kishor alleged that Kumar, who is the leader of the state, brought shame to Bihar by showing subservience to PM Modi at a recent NDA meeting in Delhi. “The leader of a state is the pride of its people. But Nitish Kumar brought shame to Bihar when he touched the feet of Modi,” he said as quoted by PTI.
The accusation comes in the context of the JD(U) securing 12 seats in the recent Lok Sabha polls, making it the second-largest ally of the BJP, which did not achieve a majority on its own. Kishor criticized Kumar for not leveraging his political influence to benefit Bihar, instead focusing on securing his political future with BJP support.
“There is so much talk about Nitish Kumar playing a key role in PM Modi’s return to power. But how is the Bihar CM leveraging his position? He is not using his clout to ensure benefits for the state. He is touching feet to ensure that he remains in power, with BJP support, even after the 2025 assembly polls,” Kishor argued.
Prashant Kishor first gained prominence in 2014 for managing PM Modi’s successful Lok Sabha election campaign. Since then, he has worked with several high-profile politicians, including Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, and Jagan Mohan Reddy, before giving up political consultancy in 2021.