Congress Looking For A Poll Strategist, PK A National Role

Kishor’s proposal to become part of the Congress and help the Gandhis turn around the party is both appealing and tricky at the same time.

The Congress is keen to revive itself ahead of the 2024 national elections and is examining the suggestions made by poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who wants to join the grand old party.

Kishor, also known as PK, is not new to the Congress. He was poll manager for the party in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh and Punjab assembly elections. While Punjab was a success, UP turned out to be a disaster.

This time around, the poll strategist wants to be a part of the Congress, which is debating the exact role for him. In a normal course, a development like this shouldn’t have aroused so much public interest.

However, the buzz around a new role for Kishor had started soon after the April West Bengal elections and is related to some key political events that followed.

Kishor, who made a significant contribution towards chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s historic win over the BJP, quit the role of a poll manager immediately after the results saying he was looking for a change.

In the subsequent weeks, Kishor’s meetings with Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and his parleys with Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi, former party chief Rahul Gandhi and senior leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, sparked off a debate that he was in the thick of a plan to unite the opposition nationwide.

During his interactions with the Gandhis, Kishor suggested a few ideas to revive the Congress and restructure the organization. The proposals are being reviewed by select party veterans, who have also been asked by the leadership to figure out a suitable position for the strategist.

The Congress believes, and rightly so, that it is central to any opposition grouping to take on the BJP. The problem is that Mamata Banerjee too has similar dreams and has the backing of Pawar.

While clarity on Kishor’s exact role in the Congress may take some more time to emerge, he has already started using his good offices to bring Mamata Banerjee and Sonia Gandhi closer.

The TMC chief recently visited the national capital for four days even as a united opposition continued to put pressure on the government over the Pegasus snooping scandal in Parliament.

Mamata interacted with Sonia and Rahul, spoke to Pawar over phone and met Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Interestingly, all through the visit, Kishor was advising the West Bengal chief minister from behind the scenes.

Soon after Mamata left for Kolkata, Rahul suddenly became active and started hosting opposition meetings in a show of strength. The get-togethers also helped the former Congress chief an opportunity to build rapport with like-minded leaders.

The Kishor connection behind these developments could not be ignored though opposition unity still has a long way to go.

Joining the Congress

The prospect of inducting Kishor as a member has left the Congress wondering where exactly would the party fit him in the hierarchy. There are several senior leaders who have moved their way up through the ranks over the past decades and may not approve of a para-dropper getting prominence.

In the past, whichever party he worked for, Kishor established a direct line of communication with the top leadership, which often led to heart burns among the senior leaders who felt neglected.

Since Kishor has access to both Rahul and Priyanka, his entry could ruffle many a feather in the Congress and create unnecessary controversies at a time when the party is looking to optimize its resources for the bigger battle three years away.

If Kishor is made in charge of a specially set up group or cell, there would be many over him in terms of authority, something that may not gel with his style of functioning.

Further, an over dependence on Kishor could send a signal among the voters that the Congress leadership lacks an ability to strategize revival plans and poll campaigns and was therefore compelled to absorb a professional manager.

A general view among the public is that the sensitive task of uniting the opposition should go to a seasoned and respected politician rather than a professional, who may have an impressive track record but is still considered an aspiring politician.

The other sticking point could be Kishor’s past association with PM Modi whom he helped during the 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign. For the poll manager to don the hat of a Congress or an opposition savior seven years later, would be hard to digest for many in the grand old party.

Assuming he is inducted into the Congress, there could be methodology issues also. While Rahul believes the Congress can be revived through conventional methods, Kishor thinks the grand old party needs to do out of the box things to attract the new voters.

Poll manager

In the past, Kishor has worked with several political parties as an election manager and even joined the Janata Dal-United in 2018 after he helped party chief Nitish Kumar win the 2015 Bihar assembly polls. Kishor, who was appointed as party vice president, was expelled in January 2020 due to his disagreement with the party over the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Later, he was behind YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy’s victory in the 2019 Andhra Pradesh assembly polls and also advised DMK chief MK Stalin in the 2021 Tamil Nadu polls.

The kind of ground research that Kishor does before advising his clients has been impressive and his skills can be a great value addition to any political party.

Yet, every political party has to identify a set of ideals it represents and has a face which attracts the voters. If the vital connect with the people is missing, the best of strategists can’t salvage the situation.

A case in point is the 2017 UP polls where Kishor advised Rahul and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to come together but the plan did not find favor with the voters.

Though Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh had appointed Kishor as his principal adviser for the 2022 assembly polls, the strategist has resigned saying he was taking a break from active role. This means he is more likely to focus on the 2024 national elections.

The developments so far indicate that Kishor’s proposal to become part of the Congress and help the Gandhis turn around the party is both appealing and tricky at the same time.