The Unreluctant Politician And The Reluctant Contestor

The former poll strategist of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is carving out a third corner in the Bihar contest by building a party of the 'corporate' type to woo voters from both sides of the NDA/INDIA fight

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WHEN the newest player on the Bihar election scene, Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party, offered to “monetise” his YouTube channel, it felt like the world had changed and the doors to success had suddenly opened for Mukesh (name changed), a 28-year-old “YouTuber” who calls himself a “digital warrior”.

Like many others, he, too, started posting on his channel videos shared daily by the party via WhatsApp and Telegram. They get Rs 25 for 1,000 views and have to share a video every day. Jan Suraaj Party, which was launched by the former election strategist also known as PK on October 2, 2024, also reimburses their internet expenses (Rs 250-300 per month). Monetisation, indeed, is often sufficient temptation—once a critical mass of “views” is reached, a decent flow of money follows. “YouTuber” wouldn’t even exist as a vocation otherwise, as this incentive is often key to enabling most people to choose a full-time career in creating social media content. No wonder the Jan Suraaj Party’s assurance of help in increasing the views and monetising their YouTube channels is quite the magnet for many aspiring influencers. The party claims its digital volunteers are active in 2,697 villages across Bihar. Mukesh leads a 25-member team in their block. A year ago, when PK visited their block and spoke to young people about jobs, education and healthcare, Mukesh, who says he has “several degrees but no job”, was impressed and signed up as a digital warrior of the party. “Once our YouTube channel is monetised, the party will stop paying us per view,” Mukesh says.

Rearing digital warriors is not the only experiment in working style that makes PK’s organisation stand apart from parties of the traditional kind. While no other party is really a stranger to the winds of “corporate culture” any more, many observers describe the party as one verily born out of it as it is run with the help of salaried employees.