Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, who has been traversing the treacherous paths of rural Bihar for the last two years, raised questions on the rationality of caste politics in an interview with CNN-News18 as he stressed the need to take all castes along for the development of society.
“When a person from Bihar can vote for Nitish Kumar, why won’t he vote for me (Jan Suraaj party)? Nitish Kumar belongs to the Kurmi caste, which is barely 2-2.5 per cent of the total population, but still manages to consolidate around 50 per cent of the votes. People in Bihar also vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. How many people of his caste live in Bihar? Not even one per cent,” the founder of Jan Suraaj said, adding that “all of us should have the ability to bring all castes together and give them justice”.
FOCUS ON UNEMPLOYMENT
Kishor, who is all set to form a political party on Gandhi Jayanti, said the situation on the ground in Bihar is worse than what statistics show. “I am from Bihar but after visiting 5,200-odd villages, I am telling you that the poverty in the villages is horrific. About 40-50 per cent people have migrated. This migration has not only affected the poor as rich people are also leaving. The concept of families has ended in Bihar.”
He added: “The situation on the ground creates fear. The per capita income in Bihar is only Rs 32,000. People are not earning even Rs 60-70 in a day. I had no idea about this before I ventured into rural Bihar two years ago. Women are anemic and face a variety of health issues.”
Asked how he would stop migration, Kishor said skill and capital are needed for employment. “Every year, people of Bihar deposit Rs 4,50,000 crore in banks. Banks give 70 per cent of the amount as loan to people based on credit-deposit (CD) ratio so that people can start employment. When Lalu Prasad was the chief minister of Bihar, the CD ratio was 18 per cent. Today, in Nitish Kumar’s era, the CD ratio is 40 per cent.”
He also alleged that last year, banks transferred their money from Bihar to southern states. “If the CD ratio is corrected in Bihar’s favour, then over two lakh crore rupees will start getting invested in the state. This will give employment to many more people. They will start buying vehicles and building houses. Migration can be stopped by giving employment to people between 15 and 55 years of age. The migration of capital and brain will have to be stopped.”
The Jan Suraaj chief, however, said he was not in favour of setting up big factories. “Big factories will not end poverty and unemployment. The rich countries of the world did not progress based on big factories. There should be small and medium-scale industries to start with. Bihar will never become an industrial hub but there is a possibility of small and cottage industries here.
Kishor said unemployment would be one of the main issues that Jan Suraaj will tackle. “I will give 10 years to Bihar. In 10 years, the situation should be such that people from Punjab, Gujarat, and Maharashtra come to Bihar to work. I will not take any post in the party. I have to awaken the people. I will keep doing padayatras and meeting people. My effort is to get good people to join the party. Today, people from other parties are joining us. This will create panic in the mainstream players.
CASTE CONUNDRUM
Kishor, weighing in on the current caste debate, said he did not imagine a casteless society. “I am not imagining a casteless society. I am trying to reconcile the castes. I am working on how the nation can move forward holding each other’s hands. Party policy formulation should be based on caste numbers. Every society has a worthy person. They could be Yadavs, Kushwahas, Brahmins. It will be my endeavour to bring capable people from every society and give them a chance.”
Asked about his electoral chances, given the caste matrix, Kishor said it was all about bringing people together. “Nitish Kumar’s caste makes up barely two to two-and-a-half per cent in the state but he has brought together fifty per cent people. People of other castes can also do this. In the original societal structure, Dalits and extremely backward people would always be with the upper castes.”
“Nitish Kumar was a wise person, he brought everyone together. Once upon a time, Lalu-ji also brought everyone together. When Lalu-ji won, the backward castes were with him. When he did not give importance to Dalits, they drifted towards Kumar,” he added.
He also took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi’s much-hyped reservation agenda, asking why Congress — which was in power for 60 years — did not bring in quotas earlier. “Who stopped them from bringing reservation? No one. Today, they have woken up. I tell him to first implement it in states ruled by the Grand Old Party and then lecture others.
‘TIRED OF TALKING ABOUT NITISH KUMAR’
Responding to allegations of being the ‘B Team’ of BJP, Kishor said he was used to the insinuations. “Society is restless. It wants change. Most NOTA votes are cast in Bihar,” he said.
He added: “I am tired of talking about Nitish Kumar. What should I say now? He has no political existence in Bihar. RJD too has cheated the people of Bihar the most. They claim everything belongs to their forefathers. Is there a monarchy?”
Kishor said in the coming two-and-a-half years, there will be elections in eight to nine states. “If the BJP manages to win even half of them, the Modi government will survive. If it loses major states, we will have to go for mid-term polls in the country.”
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