Is Prashant Kishor aligning with Nitish and BJP?

Why were Bihar's top officials, including the Chief Secretary, posing with Prashant Kishor?

After a picture of Prashant Kishor, founder of Jan Suraj and MLA from Bankipur, with top administrative and police officials of Bihar surfaced, political circles have been abuzz. Why were Bihar's top officials, including the Chief Secretary, posing for a photo with Prashant Kishor? Is this a sign of some change in Bihar's politics?

It is generally believed that Prashant Kishor has equally cordial relations with both the BJP and the JD(U). At one time, Nitish Kumar even made him the party's vice-president. However, later Nitish Kumar clarified to a news channel that it was on Amit Shah's suggestion that he inducted Prashant Kishor into the party.

According to a report by Indian Express, Prashant Kishor has once again become the centre of discussion in Bihar's political corridors after this picture. However, a day later, on Friday, the Chief Secretary's office issued a clarification. It stated that Prashant Kishor had met the Chief Secretary separately in the visitor's room, while another meeting with senior officials was already underway.

It should be noted that Prashant Kishor met Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit. The pictures that emerged later showed him with the Director General of Police, Additional Director General of Police (Traffic), and Patna Commissioner, among other senior officials. This sparked a debate as to why so many senior officials were present in a meeting concerning issues related to the constituency of first-time MLA Prashant Kishor.

In a press release issued on Friday, the Chief Secretary's office stated that Prashant Kishor had written a letter on 20th August seeking an appointment and was given a slot on 27th August. The release mentioned, “On 27th August 2026, another meeting was already underway in the Chief Secretary's chamber, attended by several officials.”

According to the release,

the Chief Secretary then met Prashant Kishor in the 'visitor's room', where “some officials were already present.” It also stated that traditionally, meetings with elected representatives have been held in the visitor's room.

However, the official clarification seems to differ from the atmosphere created by the picture and the information provided by Prashant Kishor about the meeting. After the picture surfaced, many on social media questioned how almost all top officials of the Bihar government were present together to listen to issues related to the constituency of first-time MLA Prashant Kishor.

Is there some arrangement between Nitish and the BJP with Prashant Kishor? Could Prashant Kishor be made the next CM of Bihar? Such questions have started swirling in the minds of political analysts and pundits trying to understand Bihar's politics after the emergence of this picture.

Prashant Kishor, who took oath as the MLA from Bankipur on 17th August, said after the meeting that it was a partial follow-up to his meeting with DGP Vinay Kumar on 18th August. During that meeting, he had raised issues such as traffic, illegal drug trade, and alleged illegal extortion from vendors on the roadside. Prashant Kishor stated that the meeting with the Chief Secretary on Thursday focused on non-police subjects related to civic amenities and public welfare.

This was Prashant Kishor's second high-level meeting within days of assuming office on 27th August. Earlier, on 18th August, in a meeting with the DGP, discussions were held on finding a permanent and technology-based solution to Patna's traffic problems, curbing the illegal drug trade, and stopping alleged illegal extortion from street vendors.

However, many view the Chief Secretary's office's clarification as a response to the political controversy stirred by the picture. Prashant Kishor had secured 64,151 votes and won the Bankipur by-election held on 30th July. He defeated BJP's Neeraj Kumar Sinha, ending the BJP's three-decade-long dominance in this assembly constituency.

Previously, Bankipur was represented by Nitin Navin. After being appointed as the national president of the BJP in January and subsequently elected to the Rajya Sabha, he vacated this seat.