Days after he turned down an offer from the Congress to join the party, Prashant Kishor on Monday hinted about his next stint. “My quest to be a meaningful participant in democracy & help shape pro-people policy led to a 10yr rollercoaster ride! As I turn the page, time to go to the Real Masters, THE PEOPLE, to better understand the issues and the path to “Jan Suraj”- people’s good governance,” Kishor said in a tweet. In Hindi, he added: “Shuruat Bihar se (will start from Bihar)”.
The Congress last week faced yet another disappointment when the 45-year-old strategist - who has been behind some of the most phenomenal poll wins the country has seen over the last decade - said he won’t be joining the Congress.
"I declined generous offer of Congress to join the party as part of Empowered Action Group (EAG) and take responsibility for elections. In my humble opinion, more than me party needs leadership and collective will to fix deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms," he wrote in a tweet.
His comments came after a spell of deliberation and a presentation he had given for the party to gain spotlight again ahead of the state elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh this year.
{{/usCountry}}His comments came after a spell of deliberation and a presentation he had given for the party to gain spotlight again ahead of the state elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh this year.
{{/usCountry}}Several other elections - including the crucial state polls of Karnataka - are scheduled for the next year. More importantly, however, Kishor was expected to help steer the party - which has faced multiple election setbacks over the last seven years - in the right direction for 2024 when the Lok Sabha polls are due.
The Congress-PK deal was believed to have fallen over some sticking points, including handling of the communications and alliance talks.
Meanwhile, the poll strategist is set to turn back his focus to Bihar two years after he was sacked from Nitish Kumar’s JDU amid his criticism of the central government. “I am not giving up my political journey in Bihar,” he had said at that time.
The 45-year-old is credited for heading many successful poll campaigns, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s in 2014. His IPAC has also worked for Mamata Banerjee in Bengal, Jagan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh and K. Chandrashekar Rao in Telangana.