Nitish Kumar sold pride of Bihar’s people, touched feet of PM Modi: Prashant Kishor

Political strategist and leader Prashant Kishor launched a scathing attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday. Speaking at a public meeting in Bhagalpur, Kishor said Kumar "sold the pride of the state people" and even "touched the feet" to ensure his own continuance in power.

He was referring to the time when Kumar tried to touched the feet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the the meeting of NDA Parliamentary Party, just ahead of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) forming the government after the Lok Sabha Elections.

"Nitish Kumar sold the pride of Bihar's people. The leader of 13 crore people, our pride, he is touching the feet in front of the entire nation. This man will become the chief minister," Kishor said.

Kishor, who has been running the 'Jan Suraaj' campaign, added that there's vast difference between how Nitish Kumar was in 2014 and how is he in 2024. He said this while responding to questions on why is he opposing Kumar now, when he had helped the chief minister in 2014. Kishor who had managed the JD(U) president's election campaign in 2015 and formally joined the party two years later.

"People ask me why I am now criticising Nitish Kumar, having worked with him in the past. He was a different man back then.  In 2014, Nitish Kumar had not touched PM Modi's feet… he didn't sell his conscious back then. Today, he is ready to do anything to remain the chief minister,” Kishor said.

Nitish Kumar's JD(U) won 12 seats in the Bihar Lok Sabha Elections. It emerged as the key BJP's ally that helped the NDA to form government at the Centre. The BJP formed a coalition government after it failed to get a majority in the Lok Sabha on its own.

Kishor said, "There is so much talk about Nitish Kumar playing a key role in Modi's return to power. But how is the Bihar CM leveraging his position? He is not using his clout to ensure benefits for the state. He is touching feet to ensure that he remains in power, with BJP support, even after 2025 assembly polls."

Notably, Kishor had first shot into fame in 2014 for handling the spectacularly successful Lok Sabha poll campaign of Modi. By the time he gave up political consultancy in 2021, Kishor had worked for several high-profile politicians, including Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Jagan Mohan Reddy.