Abhishek’s ‘overrated’ jab booms louder after PK’s Bihar poll debacle

Kolkata: Analyst-turned-politician Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party failed to make a mark in the Bihar Assembly elections, and this has reminded Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s observation, who in 2024 had called Kishore “overrated” and “overhyped”.

The sentiment that Prashant Kishor is “overrated” is not new and has been a topic of discussion among political analysts.

Critics often argue that he primarily aligns with parties already in a strong position to win and that his services work like a management consultancy. Banerjee, during an interview, referred to Kishor as “overhyped”. The Diamond Harbour MP’s comments came a few years after Kishor’s firm worked with the Trinamool Congress for the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, in which the party had secured a significant victory.

However, the working relationship and influence of Kishor’s firm eventually led to internal conflicts between the party’s “old guard” and the younger faction over various issues. Internal disagreements ultimately led to the TMC and Kishor parting ways. Banerjee’s 2024 comments reflect a public acknowledgment of the friction that existed and a dismissal of Kishor’s impact on the Trinamool Congress’s success.

Kishor had stated two weeks before the Bihar Assembly elections: “We’ll either get fewer than 10 seats or over 150. We won’t stop there. Because so much discussion has taken place. People have understood that this is the path to ending Bihar’s plight. Now, if the people take a leap of faith, all equations will be proven wrong. And if they don’t, even after hearing and understanding everything, it’s possible that we’ll win fewer than 10 seats.”

Kishore had predicted that Nitish Kumar’s JDU would not get more than 25 seats and Nitish would not become the Chief Minister. His assumption failed miserably.