What went wrong between PK and Congress?
Was the break up between Prashant Kishor and the Congress all about control as we are led to believe? Perhaps yes, though Prashant Kishor has been denying that he had asked for complete control (reporting straight to the Gandhis). Regardless of what exact post he had sought, one thing is clear—there is no way he would have agreed to be just another committee member, getting tied up in the Congress party’s favourite game of red tapes and “committee-committee”. The other sticking point could be Kishor’s plan to cleave the posts of party president and the PM face of the party. According to media reports, he wanted Rahul Gandhi to lead the party in the Lok Sabha and let someone else become the party president. Kishor also hinted to the media that his candidate for the party president was someone other than the Gandhis! If this was not the deal breaker then one wonders what was.
Who played Spoiler?
Since both Sonia Gandhi and Prashant Kishor seemed keen to find a way to work together, one wonders who played the spoiler. This was the third round of talks between the Congress and Kishor, with the first round during the 2017 UP Assembly polls, the second in 2021, which got nowhere, and now. We are also told that the latest round of talks was initiated by Sonia Gandhi (and Priyanka)—and not Kishor. Which makes one wonder if two of the Gandhis were so keen to bring Kishor on board then who played spoiler? Was it the old guard—for the minute Digvijaya Singh gave an interview supporting Kishor’s entry, Congress watchers got an inkling that something was up. Was the shrewd Congress leader giving a spoiler alert or was he actually welcoming an outsider to interfere in the party? Alternatively, were Kishor’s chances scuttled by Rahul Gandhi and his team. For one, Rahul attended only one round of talks and then took off abroad, leaving his mother and sister to continue engaging with Kishor. Two, when Kishor’s team IPAC tied up with TRS in Telangana it was Manickam Tagore—who is not just the Congress in-charge of the state but also a key player in Team Rahul—who immediately tweeted that an enemy’s friend cannot be a friend. The very next day Kishor was offered a position they knew he would not be happy to accept and the break-up was announced by Randeep Surjewala (the party’s communication in charge—and coincidentally a man that Kishor had publicly stated should be replaced). Go figure.
Is Kuldip Bishnoi next to jump ship?
The Congress party recently revamped its Haryana unit giving preference to the wishes of its CLP leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Although a member of the G23 group, the Congress leadership seems to have decided to back Hooda as its face for Haryana. For one, Hooda’s bete noir Kumari Selja (who happens to be a 10 Janpath favourite) was removed as the PCC chief and replaced with Udai Bhan, a Hooda loyalist. In addition, four working presidents were also announced, but Bishnoi was not one of them. The younger son of Bhajan Lal, and a Congress MLA, Bishnoi is a non Jat state leader and also does not get along with Hooda. Since the reshuffle, Bishnoi took to social media to express his displeasure and said that he was waiting for Rahul Gandhi’s return (from abroad) before taking any decision. Will Rahul Gandhi be able to keep Bishnoi back? And also, now that his wishes have been granted and Hooda has been given (almost) a free hand in the state will he continue to be part of the G23?