Prashant Kishor practicing same style of politics as Kejriwal: Chirag

Union minister Chirag Paswan on Tuesday couldn’t resist drawing a parallel between Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor and Arvind Kejriwal, the self-styled crusader who discovered that endless accusations were probably easier to make than to sustain once in office.

Paswan, who heads the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), told reporters in Bihar's capital Patna that Kishor seemed to be following the Kejriwal playbook of politics by allegation — a style that generates headlines in the short term but rarely survives contact with governance.

“Prashant Kishor has been making one allegation after another for some time. Only an investigation can reveal if his charges are backed by facts or are plain calumny,” Paswan remarked, pointedly noting that Delhi’s former chief minister had fallen conspicuously silent on his own anti-corruption crusade once the chair of power was secured.

Kishor’s latest broadside, delivered at a press conference in Patna on Monday, was once again aimed at Bihar deputy chief minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary. Kishor dusted off a murder case from 1995, alleging that Choudhary had wriggled out of trial by producing a document that declared him a minor at the time. He also pointed to an affidavit filed years later for a legislative council election, claiming it proved Choudhary had lied in court and therefore deserved not just dismissal but prison time.

The spectacle, of course, is nothing new. Kishor thrives on grand exposes, his rhetoric peppered with ominous hints of fresh revelations if his targets don’t bend. On this occasion, he even promised to unveil “corrupt deals worth another Rs 500 crore” unless JD(U) minister Ashok Choudhary withdrew a legal notice against him — an ultimatum that sounds less like a principled stand and more like a political protection racket with microphones.

Paswan, meanwhile, was unimpressed by the drama. He shrugged off Kishor’s tirades as a rerun of Aam Aadmi Party founder Kejriwal’s old act, noting that leaders in Bihar were perfectly capable of defending themselves. One, he reminded reporters, had already slapped Kishor with a defamation notice. “In due course, truth will be out,” Paswan said dryly.

The “one” was Ashok Choudhary, a JD(U) heavyweight and national general-secretary, who has been Kishor’s favoured punching bag. The minister has not only hit Kishor with defamation proceedings over accusations of benami land deals worth Rs 200 crore, but had earlier dragged him to court for suggesting that he bought his daughter a Lok Sabha ticket from Paswan.

That daughter, Shambhavi, now sits as the LJP (RV) MP from Samastipur — an awkward fact that Kishor continues to weaponise in his claims, regardless of their legal footing.

So far, Kishor’s political venture, Jan Suraaj, has resembled less a mass movement and more a roadshow built on insinuation. The man who once masterminded campaigns from the backroom appears determined to reinvent himself as a firebrand — one who lobs allegations like firecrackers.

For now, Bihar watches the spectacle with a sense of déjà vu. After all, as Paswan was keen to remind everyone, the script has already been tested in Delhi: sweeping charges, breathless press conferences, a promise to clean the Augean stables — and then, silence once power beckons. If that’s Kishor’s grand model for change, the people of Bihar might well ask whether it is politics or theatre — and not particularly original theatre at that.

With PTI inputs