From Kishanganj to Madhepura: A sneak peek into Prashant Kishor’s 800-km yatra ahead of Bihar elections

On October 27, while most political parties in Bihar paused their election campaigns for Chhath, former poll strategist Prashant Kishor was leading a roadshow in Seemanchal — the northeastern region of the state bordering West Bengal, Jharkhand, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

At 3 pm on Monday, Kishor is scheduled to reach Sontha Chowk of Kochadhaman seat in Kishanganj district for a ‘welcome’ programme of his now-famous ‘Bihar Badlav Sabha.’ But Kishor is running late after a similar event in the nearby Amour assembly seat.

The Jan Suraj has fielded Afroz Alam from the Amour seat. And in the Kochadhaman assembly, the party has fielded Abu Affan Farooque, the former President of the Students’ Union at Aligarh Muslim University. Both Amour and Kochadhaman are in the Kishanganj district of Bihar.

Since Kishor is late, Affan, who has also worked as a lawyer, arrives at the nearby stage, which also serves as the office of the Jan Suraaj Party, to engage the crowd of approximately 2,000 people.

Affan, in his trademark Student’s Union leader’s oratory, reminds the crowd of how Islam emphasises choosing a leader carefully. Affan quotes Urdu poet Allama Iqbal – ‘Sabaq phir parh sadaqat ka, adalat ka, shujaat ka, liya jaye ga tujh se kaam dunya ki imamat ka’ (Read again the lesson of truth, of justice and valour. You will be asked to do the work of taking on leadership for the world’

“Your leader should speak about your rights, your education and about the future of your children in Houses. Prashant Kishor is running late. I request you to wait patiently. A person is coming road from Patna. He should know that Sontha is a land of revolutionaries,” Affan tells the crowd.

Affan also reminds people of the 2020 Bihar assembly polls. Five of the seats in Kishanganj, including Kochadhaman, had gone to Asaduddin Owaisi’s ‘patang’ chaap AIMIM. Four of these 5 MIM MLAs, however, defected soon after the election and joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Patang is the election symbol of AIMIM -- All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the party with a strong presence in Hyderabad, Telangana.

With four assembly seats, including Kochadhaman, Kishanganj is one of the most backward districts in Bihar’s Seemanchal region, with a population of over 70 per cent Muslim.

Bihar votes in two phases. Seemanchal votes in the second phase on November 11. The first phase is on November 6. The results will be declared on November 14.

‘Stay in your Hyderabad fort’

About three hours late, Kishor, standing atop an SUV, arrives at Sontha Chowk. He addresses the crowd from the vehicle, flanked by Affan and other candidates from nearby seats. Kishor tells Muslims of Kishanganj to be God fearing and not to be scared of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has a piece of unsolicited advice for his friend Owaisi : ‘Stay in your Hyderabad fort. Don’t create confusion in Seemanchal.”

Of 24 seats in Seemanchal, 11 were won by Muslims in the 2020 assembly elections. While it was thought to be a bipolar fight between the RJD-Congress alliance and the MIM, Jan Suraaj has emerged as a third player.

From Kochadhaman, Kishor heads to Araria, 60 km away, for campaigning. The next day, October 28, Kishor addressed a large gathering at the Jokihaat assembly seat in Araria District. Jan Suraaj has fielded a former four-time MLA and one-time MP, Sarfaraz Alam, from the Jokihaat seat.

Alam has been earlier with Janata Dal and Rashtriya Janata Dal. His father, Tasleemuddin, was a veteran politician from the region who had been an MLA and MP multiple times. Incidentally, Alam's brother Shanawaz Alam, who won the seat as MIM candidate before switching to the RJD in 2020, is contesting the election on the RJD ticket this time from Jokihaat.

“The BJP and Owaisi want Muslims to consolidate their votes. But I am asking Muslims to join those Hindus who do not support the BJP and vote for Jan Suraaj,” Kishor said before moving ahead towards the next series of meetings in Araria and Supaul. 40 kms away. In all, Kishor travelled about 800 kms from Kishanganj to Madhepura.

In the land of Mandal Politics!

The last stop of Kishor’s yatra on Tuesday is Pipri Market in Supaul and he stays with his team in Madhepura, the district in the Kosi belt of Bihar, often called the “land of Mandal politics.” Murho, a village in Madhepura district, is known as the ancestral home of the BP Mandal family.

Apart from BP Mandal, veteran Yadav leaders such as Sharad Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Pappu Yadav have been Members of Parliament from Madhepura. The sitting MP, DC Yadav, is a Janata Dal-United leader.

A popular Hindi saying, “Rome hai Pope ka, Madhepura Gop ka' (Rome belongs to the Pope, Madhepura belongs to the Gops), highlights the dominance of the Yadav (Gop) community in Madhepura, much like the Pope’s authority over Rome.

This reporter caught up with Prashant Kishor in Madhepura on October 30. Wednesday. Watch this space for a detailed interview with Prashant Kishor.