Prashant Kishor detained: How the poll strategist-turned-politician is at the helm of BPSC exam protest

The row over the Bihar Public Service Commission examination (BPSC)  exam escalated on Monday after Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, who had been on a fast unto death seeking cancellation of a Bihar PSC exam at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, was detained by the police on Monday. 

He has been shifted to AIIMS at Patna for a medical examination. Kishor had been protesting in support of students demanding the cancellation of the BPSC test held on December 13, 2024. 

Kishor, the poll strategist-turned-politician who formed his party Jan Suraaj last year, has been fasting since last Thursday, marking his entry into the political discourse that has unsettled the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar. 

The controversy over the BPSC exam has been rocking the state for the past month. The issue began one week before the conduct of the BPSC prelims exam held to state services to fill multiple vacancies, including that of sub-divisional magistrates and deputy superintendents of police. Scores of candidates staged a protest in front of the BPSC exam office in Patna alleging rigging in the exams. They also wanted clarification on whether or not the exam would follow the "normalisation" pattern where scores of exams across multiple shifts would be equalised.

Following the stir, hundreds of students staged a boycott of the exam. However, the BPSC held a retest for them on Sunday, though the exam body denied the allegations. The BPSC called the issue "a conspiracy" to force the exam's cancellation. However, it was revealed that there was a delayed distribution of papers at 30 exam centres. Allegations also surfaced that non-functional CCTVs were used at some centres.

The protest turned violent after the agitators were lathi-charged by the police, injuring many. 

On Christmas day, Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishor visited Patna's Gardanibagh where the protests were happening. He joined the students and marched to the Gandhi Maidan to meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. His call for a march saw over 15,000 students gathered at Gandhi Maidan. Kishor and the student protesters were, however, stopped on their way to meet the CM. Kishor went on to sit on a dharna, while the students were offered a meeting with a secretary-level officer to discuss their demands. 

Though the students led by Jan Suraaj leader former IPS officer RK Mishra met  Chief Secretary Amrit Lal Meena to discuss their demands, they couldn't reach a consensus on the retest. 

Kishor upped the ante last Thursday when he set a 48-hour deadline for the government to resolve the matter, following which he began his fast-unto-death protest below Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at the historic Gandhi Maidan in Patna. Nitish Kumar government has so far been careful in handling him, even allowing him to sit on dharna at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan with scores of students instead of the designated protest site of Gardanibagh.

He had warned that the protest would aggravate if the government did not order a re-examination of the exams before 31st January when the exam results would be announced. "We will not let the government hold the January 26 official function," Kishor told reporters.

He has also sought the support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, stating that he was ready to "follow" these leaders and if they were averse to his presence, he was willing to "withdraw".

Kishor added that his strike was non political. "These leaders are much bigger than us. They can get five lakh people to gather at the Gandhi Maidanthis is the time to do so. The future of the youth is at stake. We are faced with a brutal regime which has ordered lathi charge 87 times in just three years".

He claims he is just a part of the 'Yuva Satyagraha Samiti' (YSS), the organisation formed by students. "All are welcome to lend support be it Rahul Gandhi, who has 100 MPs and Tejashwi Yadav who has more than 70 MLAs", Kishor said.

Though he had been accused of joining hands with the BJP, Kishor minced no words attacking the BJP, stating he didn't think any BJP leader would have the courage to speak against the very government of which the party is a part. "The state's youth often say that in national elections, they vote for PM Narendra Modi and nobody else. But the youth of Bihar have got nothing in return since Modi took over," he added.