The by-elections for several assembly constituencies in many states are going to take place very soon. In Bihar, four assembly constituencies are going to have bypolls on November 13. These assembly segments are Ramgarh, Taraari, Belaganj and Imamganj. The most remarkable development hovering over these supposed bypolls is the electoral debut of Jan Suraaj party in the legislative assembly of Bihar. Jan Suraaj is a newly-formed political party with Prashant Kishor being the most prominent face of the party. Although, the working president of the party is Manoj Bharti but Jan Suraaj has been a Prashant Kishor phenomenon since its conceptualisation and remains under his control now when it is undergoing through the process of operationalisation.
Kishor, previously, was in the business of political consultancy or as he would like to call it- a “political aid” providing his services to politicians/leaders fighting to grab or retain office. He has worked with Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar, Mamta Banerjee, M K Stalin among many other political stalwarts. Leaving this career behind, Kishor himself took the political plunge by undertaking a padyatra through the terrains of Bihar about two years ago and recently launched the political outfit- Jan Suraaj.
In an attempt to break the stagnation of Bihar politics which has revolved around politics of social justice based on caste assertion and configurations since the last four decades or so, Kishor claims to be offering an alternative standing on politics with development being the core agenda. Being old idioms as they are, poverty elimination, rapid and inclusive development, decent standard of living, still are major issues particularly in the political setting of Bihar where crude social and economic inequality is perversely pervasive.
In his public speeches and addresses to the public, Prashant Kishor is urging the voters to vote on issues like good education and health facilities, regular and quality delivery of amenities like food, water, transport etc. Other issues include the crisis of employment in Bihar and the forced migration to other states that this crisis gives rise to and corruption that is rampant in Bihar and that has aided patronage and hindered progress and development. What also seems to be important for Mr Kishor is the strong clutches of family politics in Bihar, especially at the target is usually Tejaswi Yadav who is touted to be the next big thing in Bihar’s politics after Lalu and Nitish. A somewhat unique factor in his pronouncements is that Kishor presents a ‘moral model of politics’ that the voters should adhere to, where he almost condemns the voters for voting on considerations like caste and religion. In this ‘moral model of politics’, Kishor’s argument is that if you vote on caste and religious affiliations you are bound to get an inefficient, corrupt governance with very little developmental objectives being achieved. Thus, challenging the old thesis of caste associations propelling democracy where caste became a tool for empowerment for marginalised groups. In this regard, his recent appeal to voters asking them not to vote on “jaat” (caste) and “bhaat” (free meals and liquor distributed during elections to woo voters) is one instance to be mindful of.
About thirteen years ago, another political force made its splashes felt onto the political canvass of India, riding on the backdrop of the India Against Corruption movement also known as the Anna Andolan. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emerged as the most apparent political heir of the movement leading a campaign against corrupt governance and promising a range of welfarist service-delivery measures in the areas of education, health, transport etc. Something that resembles in Jan Suraaj’s campaign as well. Interestingly, Kishor in his previous avatar as a political strategist has also worked with Arvind Kejriwal and helped him in the last Delhi assembly elections. AAP’s rise has truly been the political story of the century, the honorarium of becoming the latest ‘National’ party of the country, is only one glorious chapter of this story. But the real question is related to the future of AAP’s politics which seems to be at a crossroads today. With a decade of anti-incumbency in Delhi, a strong resentment against its government in Punjab (a border state with a complex history and society) and its poor performance at the national level in the last three Lok Sabha elections where larger narratives, ideas and issues matter, AAP has yet to prove its mettle.
Both, Jan Suraaj and AAP, claim to be inspired by Gandhian ideals and methods. Point to be kept in mind is AAP’s history of commitment to satyagraha mode of protest and the fact that Jan Suraaj’s campaign was launched on the birth anniversary of Gandhi and a photo of Gandhi is present on the official symbol of the party. However, the allotted poll symbol for the party in these by-elections will be “School bag”. Gandhi seems to be the universal currency which every mainstream political actor, including Jan Suraaj and AAP, seems to be using to buy their way into positions of political power. But instrumental or even pure Gandhism is not enough of a good substitute for ideological projections and convictions. We only have to look at the immense success that Hindutva politics has managed to achieve, owing to a great extent to its undying commitment to its core ideas and line of thinking, the criticisms notwithstanding. Politics is essentially about ideas and not a mere ‘rhetoric of deliverance’. Larger ideas of how the political and economic system should be organised, what normative principles should guide the distribution of limited resources, what practical solutions would work best to achieve the ideals of liberty, equality and justice, and what should be the way forward for forming a harmonious society out of a conflictual and adversarial one that we have today. Both political actors under consideration even though are part of politics but seem to be embodying an anti-political imagination. Considering these churnings, the undercurrents, and the possible future for Jan Suraaj, one cannot not wonder if Jan Suraaj is another AAP experiment in the making.
Survesh Pratap Singh is a PhD student at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.
