Prashant Kishor, popularly known as PK, is one of India’s best-known political strategists and the founder of the Jan Suraaj Party. Before entering politics and election management, he worked as a public health expert on a United Nations-funded programme for several years. Here’s a look at his educational qualifications and early career. (Image: PTI)
Prashant Kishor completed his Class 10 (Matriculation) from M.P. High School, Buxar, under the Bihar School Examination Board in 1991. He then completed his Class 12 (Intermediate) from Patna Science College under the Bihar Intermediate Education Council in 1993. (Image: PTI)
After finishing school, Kishor pursued a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) at the University of Lucknow, where he studied from 1996 to 1999. (Image: PTI)
He later earned a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) from the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad, between 2001 and 2003. The programme was conducted in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University and Hinduja Hospital, focusing on healthcare management. (Image: PTI)
In 2010, Kishor completed an intensive French language programme at CAVILAM Vichy in France, an institute affiliated with Clermont Ferrand University. (Image: PTI)
Before entering politics, Prashant Kishor worked as a public health expert on a United Nations-funded programme for several years. He later transitioned into political consulting, where he gained national recognition for managing high-profile election campaigns before launching the Jan Suraaj Party. (Image: PTI)
Prashant Kishor’s political journey began in 2014, when he emerged as the strategist behind Narendra Modi-led BJP’s successful Lok Sabha election campaign. He later founded the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), advising several major political parties across the country, before briefly joining the JD(U) as its national vice-president in 2018. However, differences with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) led to his expulsion from the party in 2020. (Image: PTI)
Two years later, Kishor announced that he would not join any existing political party. Instead, he launched the Jan Suraaj campaign and embarked on a statewide padyatra across Bihar. In October 2024, it formally transformed into the Jan Suraaj Party, with Kishor promising an alternative to Bihar’s traditional political players. The Bankipur result marks Jan Suraaj’s first electoral victory and Prashant Kishor’s successful debut as a candidate. (Image: PTI)
