Gandhi, Godse can't go together: Prashant Kishor slams Nitish Kumar over JD(U)'s 'ideology'

Addressing a press conference here, Kishor said, "I had a difference of opinion with Nitish ji since the Lok Sabha elections. The difference was over ideological positioning."

"The JD(U) is used to speak about Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) so Gandhi and Godse (Nathuram Godse) can't go together," he added.

Regarding his personal equation with Kumar who had earlier said the poll strategist was inducted to the party over Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah's recommendation, Kishor said, "Nitish ji always treats me like a son. I have respect for him. It is his prerogative to decide whether to keep me in his party or not."

On the day he was expelled from the party, Kishor had tweeted sending out a strong message, "Thank you @NitishKumar. My best wishes to you to retain the chair of Chief Minister of Bihar. God bless you."

Kishor was expelled from the party after he had raised questions over Kumar's stand on multiple issues including the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

The JD(U) had voted in favour of the CAA in Parliament in December last year.

With eight months to go for the next assembly elections in Bihar, Kishor has raised a question over Kumar's development in Bihar.

"He keeps saying he has improved Bihar from the time of Lalu ji's regime. It is true. But for how long will he keep saying this? Why should we not compare our state with Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka? Why people from Gujarat will not come to Bihar to work?" he said.

"According to per-capita income, Bihar is at 22nd position. If we need to make it to top 10 in next 10 years, we need to bring in good people," he added.

Implying that the JD(U)-BJP alliance has hardly provided any benefits to the state, Kishor said, "He is running an alliance with the BJP but at what cost? He had urged the BJP government to make Patna University a central university. But that did not happen."

Though the JD(U), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress had stormed to power in 2015 state polls, Kumar ditched his allies couple of years later to join hands with the BJP to run the government.

Kishor was the JD(U) vice president while all these political dramas took place in the eastern state.

Kishor also made an announcement on Tuesday of launching a programme to mobilise 10 lakh youth towards the development of Bihar, not forgetting to invite Kumar and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, who is a BJP leader, to be a part of it.

He claimed already more than two lakh people have registered with him for the programme though the poll strategist, who had earlier worked with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, rejected any speculation over his joining in politics.

Kishor's organisation Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), which has recently helped the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to win in Delhi, is working with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the 2021 assembly elections in the state.