
Political Strategist Prashant Kishor, who admitted that he went wrong in the assessment of BJP's performance in Lok Sabha polls, chalked out reasons why BJP performed badly in a few seats. Explaining further, he said the BJP lost those seats because they gave tickets against its internal survey. Citing an example of BJP's dismal performance in Uttar Pradesh, he said that the party was complacent and its leadership was not in sync in the state.
"BJP made the mistake in their operational management. They couldn't pull through the rigour that was required to convert the support," Kishor told India Today in an interview. He further said that Dalits and Muslims voted against BJP and there was ferocity against the party.
Taking an example of the withdrawal of a candidate in Bengal, he said that it is one of the rare incidents where the BJP announced candidate withdrew and then they couldn't find a replacement for more than a month.
"A lot of people went with the mindset that we will get votes in the name of PM Modi despite facing dissent. This was the level of arrogance shown on record by some of the BJP candidates," he added.
The political analyst further said that the BJP will remain a dominant force for the next 20-30 years.
“The next 20-30 years will be a BJP dominant era. It doesn't change. That doesn't mean that the BJP won't lose elections; they might even go into opposition. But the polity of the country, like it happened with the Congress for 40 years, in the next 20-30 years of our lifetime, the BJP will be the pole around which politics will move. They will remain the dominant political force.”
Kishor also mentioned that if the BJP fails to save at least two of the three states heading for assembly elections--Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand -- the party will face trouble, including internal discontent and allies running away.
Prashant Kishor mentioned that concerns about the coalition government's stability are unfounded. He believes that Narendra Modi will be able to govern effectively and implement major reforms. He highlighted PV Narasimha Rao's example, noting that Rao implemented major reforms under a coalition government in the early 90s.
However, Prashant Kishor observed changes in the NDA coalition, pointing out that Modi's victory speech mentioned the NDA's success rather than just the BJP's. He also dismissed the idea that Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar could control the NDA, stating they couldn't form a government on their own if they left the BJP-led coalition.