E-Paper
Kishor meets Congress brass at Sonia’s house, could join party
Kishor’s presentation was full of data and results of various polls, one of the people cited above said, seeking anonymity.
Election strategist Prashant Kishor is just a step away from working with and possibly joining the Congress party on the 2024 general elections campaign, according to people aware of the development.
After a three and a half hour meeting with party president Sonia Gandhi, along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other top leaders, the party for the first time spoke publicly about their deliberations with the strategist who ran winning campaigns for Trinamool Congress in West Bengal (2021), Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi (2020) and YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh (2019), among others.
“Prashant Kishor had given a detailed presentation about the 2024 election strategy to the Congress president and some of her senior colleagues. The plan presented by Kishor will be looked at by a small group of people led by the Congress president,” the party’s organisation general secretary KC Venugopal said, reading from a statement. “That group will give a report, and within a week there will be a final decision.’’
This may just be a formality. HT spoke to two people present in the meeting who said the 137-year-old party was reeling with the devastating electoral loss in five states and “needed Kishor much more than he needed them”.
Kishor didn’t respond to HT’s queries.
Kishor’s presentation was full of data and results of various polls, one of the people cited above said, seeking anonymity. For instance, he presented the perception that was generated over rashtrawad (nationalism) as represented by the ruling party versus parivarvad (dynasty) as represented by the Congress.
Kishor is believed to have also conveyed how the BJP successfully gains mileage from a Narendra Modi versus Rahul Gandhi battle, and the role of the media in the battle for votes.
One of the key things that Kishor said the opposition can focus on were states and regional allies. He pointed out that whether it was Madhya Pradesh or Uttar Pradehsh, the BJP had to fight a tough battle, even though the eventual outcome was a win for them, the people said.
“He told the Congress that the BJP didn’t have a strong narrative in states like West Bengal and that’s what the opposition should focus on,” said the people. The presentation also suggested focusing the fight to a limited number of parliamentary constituencies so that the Congress’ efforts and resources were not wasted in pointless fights.
Since the negotiations with Kishor began in the spring of 2020, expectations have also fallen. HT learns that the party is now aiming to stay relevant and gather enough numbers so that they can claim the post of leader of the opposition. “At the moment, they are able to push all their legislation through. We should be in a position to at least provide resistance,” said one of the persons.
The other leaders present at the meeting were Mallikarjun Kharge, Digvijaya Singh and Ambika Soni and Ajay Maken. In an exchange after the presentation, they asked Kishor a range of questions about his expectations once he joined them.
It was clear that the Gandhis had made up their mind on this issue, the person quoted above said. Kishor’s parting shot was to tell the leaders to give his presentation some thought, the person added.
