The poll strategist accepted the proposal in the presence of Rahul Gandhi, but backtracked later.
New Delhi: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor was also one of the talking points during the Congress Nav Sankalp Shivir which was held last week at Udaipur.
While talking about Kishor’s political moves, leaders were asking how he managed to convince the high command to allow him to share his presentation with the party office-bearers and other seniors.
Some said that AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra helped Prashant Kishor. However, leaders close to Priyanka denied it. They said that Kishor contacted former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on his own and tried to make inroads for himself. After Rahul Gandhi gave a green light, AICC General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal arranged meetings for Prashant Kishor.
In fact, Kishor reached out to Rahul Gandhi with a proposal to help the crisis-ridden party. He also expressed the wish to join Congress.
Rahul Gandhi gave him a patient hearing and agreed to let him in. Kishor was told that he would be made to join the party, but he would be given the party’s charge in Bihar.
According to sources, the poll strategist Prashant agreed to take over the responsibility of the Congress in Bihar. But he wanted to put up his presentation before Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi. He was allowed to do so, with the condition that it will be implemented only if the points and suggestions are accepted by the party.
After Rahul Gandhi’s approval, Venugopal arranged some rounds of meetings. But at the same time, Rahul Gandhi’s foreign visits signaled that the party is not giving Kishor that much importance. Senior leaders did attend the meetings, but they did not show much interest in what Kishor presented.
Kishor also got the signal that he was not going to get anything at the national level. He understood that he was going to be confined to Bihar. So, Kishor declined to join the Congress.
What was, however, clear was that Kishor was in fact looking for a platform at the national level where he could be projected as a big face against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024. With this agenda in mind, Prashant Kishor explored the possibility of a front with the help of TMC, NCP, TRS and other leaders. But he discovered that nothing would happen without Congress being in the scene. After this only, he tried to get closer to Congress leadership. But he was put in his place. Now, Kishor is forced to fight a lone battle in Bihar.