Political strategist Prashant Kishor, who is in the news for predicting around 300 seats for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, on Thursday reacted to a viral video clip of his interview with journalist Karan Thapar. In a post on X, he talked about how some people are “rattled” with his assessment of the outcome of the ongoing polls.
“Drinking water is good as it keeps both mind and body hydrated. Those who are RATTLED with my assessment of outcome of this election must keep plenty of water handy on June 4th. PS: Remember, 02nd May, 2021 and #West Bengal!!” he said.
Drinking water is good as it keeps both mind and body hydrated. Those who are RATTLED with my assessment of outcome of this election must keep plenty of water handy on June 4th. PS: Remember, 02nd May, 2021 and #West Bengal!!
— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) May 23, 2024
After his recent comments on the election outcome, a section of social media users have questioned the accuracy of his forecasts citing an old tweet from May 2022. The users said he had predicted an “electoral rout in Gujarat and HP” for the Congress, but the party, in fact, won Himachal Pradesh in the assembly elections that year while it suffered a heavy defeat in Gujarat.
Thapar asked about his prediction on the Himachal elections in the interview, but Kishor maintained that he did not say that the Congress will suffer a rout and asked for video proof. The clip of that interview has now gone viral.
In the interview, when Thapar referenced online news articles about the predictions, Kishor dismissed them and said he will quit his work if the senior journalist can provide video footage. A number of social media users sharing this video clip have not only used Kishor’s social media post from May 2022, but also shared videos of news bulletins by prominent TV channels that have used the post.
Kishor refused to accept news articles as proof of his past predictions, saying “newspapers can publish anything”. “Newspapers can publish anything, but I challenge anyone to show where I have uttered such words. Show me the actual statements,” he said in the video.
Kishor has run into a lot of online abuse after he predicted a third consecutive win for the BJP. His prediction is: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP is returning to power with either the “same or slightly better numbers”. In recent interviews to NDTV and India Today, he has scoffed at the chances of the INDIA bloc defeating the BJP in the general elections. In fact, he has said this is a third lost opportunity for the opposition.
He has criticised the INDIA bloc’s failure to announce a prime ministerial candidate, something that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have repeatedly used to attack the opposition front saying they will appoint “five PMs in five years” if they come to power.
Adding more traction to his poll prediction, a US expert has also predicted a landslide victory for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. Prominent American political scientist Ian Bremmer also told NDTV Profit that the saffron party can win between 295 and 315 seats. The BJP came to power with 282 seats in 2014, with the NDA winning 336 seats in total. In 2019, the BJP increased its tally to 303 seats while the NDA crossed the 350-mark in all.
This time, the BJP-led NDA’s poll slogan has been ‘Abki baar, 400 paar’. It is looking at reaching this magical number while hoping to increase its tally in states like West Bengal, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and making a dent further down south in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
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