Just a private meeting, says Prashant Kishor on meeting Sharad Pawar in Mumbai

Election strategist Prashant Kishor's meeting with NCP chief Sharad Pawar comes at a time Pawar has been insisting on a united forum of opposition parties to take on the BJP.

Election strategist Prashant Kishor met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar at his Mumbai residence on Friday, fuelling speculations that efforts were on to form a national coalition against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the next general elections scheduled in 2024.

Poll strategist and political consultant Prashant Kishor along with Supriya Sule leaves NCP chief Sharad Pawar's residence after meeting him, in Mumbai on Friday (HT Photo/Anshuman Poyrekar)

Kishor reached ‘Silver Oak’, Pawar’s residence in south Mumbai, around 11am and left around 2pm, along with Pawar’s daughter and Baramati Member of Parliament (MP) Supriya Sule. State NCP chief Jayant Patil too reached ‘Silver Oak’ for a brief period and left early. NCP insiders said the possibility of an alternative to the BJP was among the topics discussed in the meeting.

Pawar has been insisting on a united forum of opposition parties to take on the BJP, which is in power for the second consecutive term. “Pawar saheb has been working to bring all Opposition parties together against the BJP. It is natural, the issue would be discussed,” said a senior NCP leader. “It was just a private courtesy meeting over lunch and nothing to do with politics,” Kishor said, in response to a text message.

Although Kishor has announced that he won’t be continuing with his job as a poll strategist now, there have been speculations that he is working with Banerjee for a national coalition of Opposition parties to wrest power from the BJP in Lok Sabha elections, although none of them have confirmed it.

The meeting comes a day after Sharad Pawar said the three-party coalition — Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — will not only complete a five-year term but will also perform well in the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections.

“There was a lot of buzz after chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister in Delhi. We have never worked with Shiv Sena in the past, but Maharashtra has been watching the party for the past many years… Shiv Sena is a party that can be trusted, so even if people are raising doubts over the meeting, I have no doubt that the MVA government will not only complete its tenure of five years but also perform well in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections and represent the state and the country,” Pawar said, while addressing a small gathering at NCP headquarters to mark 22nd foundation day of the party.

Significantly, Kishor had also advised Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on poll strategy before the 2019 Assembly elections.

Senior NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal said Pawar will definitely consider Kishor’s suggestion. “He is a successful election strategist and has helped various parties win the polls. I don’t know the exact reason behind the meeting, but if he comes up with a suggestion then the NCP chief will certainly consider it,” Bhujbal said in response to Friday’s development.

However, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who is also Pawar’s nephew, downplayed the issue. He said, “Kishor has already declared that he is quitting the profession, so a political discussion is out of the question. People from various walks of life come to meet Pawar saheb,” he told reporters in Pune.

“Many leaders wanted to know about Kishor’s successful strategies considering his success in different elections. There is nothing wrong in such a meeting,” said Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena spokesperson and MP.