Gujarat polls round the bend, will Congress seek Prashant Kishor aid to win?
It is being said that Rahul and Priyanka met with Prashant Kishor to discuss Gujarat poll strategy
The Assembly polls in five states are now past. The Congress, which was handed crushing defeats in all these states that went to the polls, will now look at the future in more focussed manner. With the Assembly elections due in some time in the states of Gujarat and Karnataka, the party will most probably line up stronger measures to ensure victories.
The Gujarat poll scene is extremely important to the party and it is being said that Congress party will want to look at strategies that would help in defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party in a convincing manner.
It is in this context a Hindustan Times report that hints at poll strategist Prashant Kishore’s entry into the Congress scheme of things assumes significance. The report has said that Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have met with Prashant Kishor, and that Kishor charting out the campaign strategies for the Gujarat elections is a possibility.
Kishor back in talks with Congress?
If this is true, it would mean that Kishore is back in talks with the party, as he had approached the Congress in early 2020 with a plan to help with its 2024 election campaign. Now with Kishore again initiating talks with the party top brass, it looks like something is indeed brewing.
Though Prashant Kishore is of the opinion that all such rumours are baseless, the HT report has stated that two Congress leaders have separately confirmed that Kishor had held a meeting with Rahul and Priyanka this Thursday. The Congress has not made any detail public about the meeting that is believed to have taken place, the report further suggests that Kishor’s meeting with the Gandhis came soon after the Congress leaders’ meeting with another poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu. Incidentally, Kanugolu had started working with the party last month. However, the talks with Kishor had focussed only on his possible tie up with the Congress party on its Gujarat campaign.
Congress plan still under wraps
Before the state of Gujarat goes to the polls, scheduled for December, the Congress would want a winning strategy in place. And the party looks to have Kishor on its side. With Kanugolu also on its side, there are chances of speculations on whether Kishor and Kanugolu would work together. It may be recalled that the duo had been the force behind Narendra Modi ‘s campaign in 2014. After the polls, Kishor had parted ways with his colleague.
However, the Congress party seems to believe that they both can be part of the same team, as the party is large enough for both to work on it. It would be easier to believe that Kanugolu would focus more on Karnataka elections, while Kishor would be in charge of Gujarat.
The party men or the public are still kept in the dark as to whether the Congress is roping in Prashant Kishor to chart out and lead the Gujarat election campaign. It is anticipated the party will clear the air in a few days. Let’s wait to know.
