Democracy in India will continue to thrive regardless of which party or leader remains in power, Prashant Kishor, ace poll strategist and founder of the Jan Suraj Abhiyan, said on Friday. In an interaction during an event hosted by The Indian Express, Kishor said that it was wrong to claim that India would become a dictatorship.

“It is incorrect to say that India, like a country in Africa maybe, will become a dictatorship. No matter who comes to power, no one can steamroll 1.3 billion people in the country. We have seen people like Narendra Modi before as well but democracy in India has continued to thrive,” Kishor said. The poll strategist, who is seen as having played a key role in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 campaign and a key architect of the success seen by state leaders, admits that India is witnessing an unprecedented centralisation of power.

“India has never seen such centralisation of power. When one party gets so many votes to come to power, it becomes difficult for the Opposition parties. However, this is not the first time that something like this has happened. During Indira Gandhi’s time, the notion was — India is Indira and Indira is India,” Kishor said.

On Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra

Kishor, who has been previously involved with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s campaign in the past as well, was skeptical about his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra just ahead of polls. Kishor said he failed to see logic in Rahul Gandhi conducting a Yatra from Manipur just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

“At a time when he should be at the centre of where politics happens, he is busy doing a Yatra in the Northeast. Visiting the (Northeast) areas is fine but deserting the headquarters is definitely not a wise move. I don’t know who is advising him on these issues,” Kishor said.

Speaking of the Congress party, Kishor said that the party needs to stick to one belief and put in efforts to improve its messaging. “I had told them that they would need to re-incarnate themselves. Also, politics is like the stock market. One cannot keep jumping from one goal to another. Today, it is Rafale, tomorrow Hindutva… this won’t work.”

Kishor further claimed that Rahul enjoys a wider audience than many BJP leaders on social media but has failed to make an impact since he is not saying the right things. “The messenger is important, how the message is delivered is irrelevant,” he said.

On Nitish Kumar’s flip

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish kUmar does not enjoy the same sway he once did over people in the state due to his frequent U-turns, Kishor said. “Nitish Kumar is referred to as ‘Paltu Ram’ by voters in Bihar and as such, he no longer holds the sway he used to over people in the state. If someone switches sides so many times, people will definitely understand and move away from them.”

Kishor, who worked closely with Nitish as the Janata Dal (United) vice-president, said that Nitish’s alliance with the BJP is not because it would benefit the latter. Rather, it was a calculated ploy to kill the idea of the INDIA Opposition bloc. “It all boils down to numbers. The BJP hasn’t brought him in because it will benefit them. They did so because they wanted to end the idea of the INDIA Opposition bloc, of which, Nitish was a major proponent. They have lost the battle to win the war,” he said when asked why Nitish continued to be Chief Minister.

Kishor further said that the BJP has already swallowed the JDU and that Nitish Kumar, who has been the Chief Minister for the last 18 years, is “just milking whatever is left”.

On INDIA bloc

Kishor claims that the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties lacks seriousness and has done little to reach out to the voters since it has been formed. As per Kishior, the Opposition parties would have come together much earlier and done a lot more than they did since June 2023 if they were serious.

“All the INDIA alliance has done between June 2023, when they first met, and now is conduct closed-door meetings. They have never reached out to the people. If Rahul Gandhi could travel to Europe, why couldn’t the alliance reach out to the voters? The Opposition bloc is clearly not serious enough,” he said.

Kishor further suggests that the Opposition bloc must address fundamental issues in order to be successful. “They need to first galvanise those who are not completely convinced by BJP’s ideologies. Only then can they get into the modalities of fighting them on issues like Hindutva or Mandal politics,” Kishor said, adding that if 60 per cent of the voters do not confirm to the BJP (its vote share was 37.36% in 2019), they first need to figure out how to get 60 per cent of the aforementioned 60 per cent votes.

On Modi factor

Questioned about the biggest issues that would play in the minds of voters during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Kishor said PM Modi will be the biggest factor. “The votes will definitely be around PM Modi. Yes, the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is big, but if you remove PM Modi from the equation, even the BJP will agree that it would have not been as effective as it is,” Kishor said.

Kishor, however, pointed out that it was the BJP’s overdependence on PM Modi that could emerge as its biggest risk. When asked who within the BJP could succeed Modi as the PM face, Kishor did not name a leader, but said that it will be one with a more hardline approach. Asked about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Kishor said that he saw the leader as a “cult in the making” but is yet to arrive there.

“If not for PM Modi, CM Yogi Adityanath would not have been able to pull off a victory in Uttar Pradesh,” he added.