Throwing down a challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the run-up to the Bengal polls due in about five months, Prashant Kishor, chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s election strategist, said on Monday that he would leave his “space” if the BJP wins more than 99 of the state’s 294 assembly seats.
Kishore tweeted: “For all the hype AMPLIFIED by a section of supportive media, in reality BJP will struggle to CROSS DOUBLE DIGITS in #WestBengal. PS: Please save this tweet and if BJP does any better I must quit this space!”
BJP leaders scoffed at the claim, saying it was ambiguous because Kishor hadn’t spelt out what he meant by “space.”
A top executive at I-Pac, Kishor’s company, said he meant leaving his job as an election strategist. “What he meant is quite obvious. He will leave his work if the BJP wins more than 99 seats in Bengal. Those in the BJP, who counter this, should be asked whether they will quit politics if he is proved right,” the executive said on condition of anonymity.