Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri offered a sharp critique of Prashant Kishor’s recent media appearance after the poll strategist-turned-activist engaged in a heated exchange with journalist Karan Thapar during an interview for The Wire, which has since gone viral on social media.
Prashant Kishor, known for his electoral predictions, faced tough questions from Thapar about his previous inaccurate forecasts, leading to a tense interaction. The interview highlighted Kishor’s claims that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to maintain or even exceed its 2019 Lok Sabha tally in the ongoing general election.
Agnihotri took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticize Kishor’s media strategy. “Talking too much to the media will eventually ensure your downfall. First, you can’t remember all the lies you have uttered in the past,” he posted. He added, “You can be a hero only if you are a high achiever or have logic, personal charm, and an emotional connect. PK (Prashant Kishor) has only random data, arrogance, and a big ego with only focus on me, mine, myself. It’s very easy for a clever journalist to destroy him.”
During the interview, Kishor became defensive when reminded of his inaccurate predictions regarding the Congress party’s performance in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the Telangana assembly elections. He challenged Thapar to show evidence of him predicting a Congress rout in Himachal Pradesh.
Kishor had previously commented on the outcome of a Congress brainstorming session in Udaipur in 2022, stating on X, “In my view, it failed to achieve anything meaningful other than prolonging the status quo and giving some time to the #Congress leadership, at least till the impending electoral rout in Gujarat and HP!”
Social media users widely shared a snapshot of Kishor taking a sip of water during the interview, describing it as a “meltdown.”
Agnihotri observed, “In this video, despite an egotistical anchor like KT, PK is found stammering and losing his composure because ego plus lies is a self-destructive combination. So far, PK has been playing on friendly turfs. For the first time, he played on an unfamiliar pitch. And, hence, the result.”
Drawing a comparison, Agnihotri referenced a recent ANI podcast with Kapil Sibal. He noted that while the interviewer initially aimed to challenge Sibal, it was the podcaster who ultimately faltered. “This happened because Kapil Sibal was calm and wise. Also, he doesn’t give many interviews, so he had something new to say. Whereas PK chose to be in the spotlight and he was repeating his half-truths and half-lies everywhere, he was bound to get caught in his own trap,” Agnihotri concluded.
