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| Prashant Kishor's on Nitish campaign imprint was clear from word go. |
November 9, 2015, NewsCrunch
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's poll strategist Prashant Kishor played an impressive role in crafting his victory. Ironically, Prashant Kishor was also the man behind Modi's electoral sweep in 2014.
After he lost out in the power struggle within Modi camp, Prashant Kishor shifted his loyalty to Nitish Kumar.
This turned out to be a huge advantage as Prashant Kishor knew how Modi's mind worked.
"...We knew the PM’s mind. The battle is half won, if one can rattle him,” Kishor told The Hindustan Times during the Bihar election.
The key to Prashant Kishor's strategy was not to let Modi wave build up. Unlike in 2014, Modi never managed to get momentum in Bihar, while several other factors equally contributed, Prashant Kishor had a role to play
“Our purpose was limited: do not allow a Modi hype to build,” said Prashant Kishor, told HT.
Prashant Kishor ensured that Modi would not set the agenda, would react to baits and that Nitish Kumar would dominate the conversation.
The road Modi took to reach his rally venue at Muzaffarpur was flooded with Nitish Kumar’s posters.
Before he landed in Patna, Nitish Kumar's Twitter handle sent a series of tweets firing questions at him. Modi walked into the trap and started his speech reacting to the tweets.The idea was to put Modi on the defensive and it worked. Prashant Kishor's research team also ensured that Nitish Kumar always had enough ammunition to tear onto Modi's arguments and BJP was caught surprised, without a counter repartee.
Prashant Kishor's imprint was clear from word go. Working out of Nitish Kumar's official residence, he had access and clout, and used it to the hilt.
Even before the campaign took off, Nitish Kumar had jump started on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp.
Prashant Kishor also used print and TV ads, billboards, LED-mounted trucks, teams of analysts and copy writers to give a sharp edge to the JD(U) campaign.
He also crafted catchy slogans and campaigns such as Ghar Ghar Dastak and sending DNA samples, which put BJP on the defensive.
HT reports that Prashant Kishor also prevailed upon Nitish Kumar and Lalu to campaign separately, allowing them to reach out to a large number of people. .
All of this added up to a wave that swept aside BJP an its star campaigner Modi.