Chandrababu Naidu's regionalistic slur against Prashant Kishor gives BJP, JD(U) ammo in Bihar

Election strategist-turned-JD(U)-vice-president Prashant Kishor is back in news. This time around for being called ‘Bihari dacoit’ by Andhra Pradesh chief minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu. “K Chandrashekar Rao is doing criminal politics. He is grabbing the MLAs of Congress and TDP. Bihari dacoit Prasant Kishor has removed lakhs of votes in Andhra Pradesh,” Naidu was quoted as saying by ANI. Naidu didn’t just stop at just that, he also questioned the “law and order situation in Bihar” and likened Biharis to cyber criminals. By doing so, he has given rise to a big political controversy in the run up to parliamentary elections. It is worth noting, that despite Naidu’s claims that “Kishor has removed lakhs of voters…”, it should be remembered that removal or addition of voters is Election Commission’s job, and is beyond reach of a private individual. Though at the time of formally joining politics and JD(U) Kishor will no longer be doing what he was doing in the past (working as an election strategist for leaders across the political spectrum), but he had also made it clear that he was committed to finish his pre-assigned task of advising YSR Congress Party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy for Andhra Pradesh Assembly and parliamentary elections. Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls are going to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections on 11 April, 2019. Kishor continues to be poll strategist for YSRCP. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP is posing a stiff challenge to Naidu’s TDP. There are reports that Reddy has an edge over Naidu in coming elections. Kishor reacted by tweeting:

An imminent defeat can rattle even the most seasoned politicians. So I’m not surprised with the baseless utterances of @ncbn

Sirji rather than using derogatory language that shows your prejudice & malice against Bihar, just focus on why people of AP should vote for you again. https://t.co/CYSJNRJ43W

— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) March 19, 2019

By calling Kishor a ‘Bihari dacoit’ and making adverse remarks about ‘Biharis’, Naidu has handed an easy ammunition to the BJP and JD(U) to target the ‘mahagathbandhan’ to raise heat in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections.