July 17, 2026

Congress Discusses Poll Strategy With Prashant Kishor In Attendance

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-04-16 15:00:08

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

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As senior Congress leaders met today at the residence of interim party president Sonia Gandhi to discuss strategy for the assembly polls later this year and the 2024 general elections, the presence of political strategist Prashant Kishor once again started the buzz about his joining the party instead of just leading its campaign or providing strategic inputs. Kishor was thought to be ready to join the Congress last year too and serious talks regarding this were under way before something snapped and the talks broke down. He then joined hands with Abhishek Banerjee and spearheaded the Trinamool campaign which resulted in a resounding victory for the party. But after that, Kishor is reputed to have instigated several defections from the Congress and those leaders joined the TMC. The Congress was miffed at this.

Obviously, his presence at the latest strategy meeting of the party shows that Kishor has made up his mind to get involved with the Congress - it will be clear later this week whether he will join the party or work as a strategist  although the party said it has asked him to join - and the party has decided to overlook the way he snared leaders in some states. Kishor has been trying to unite opposition leaders and has repeatedly said earlier that such an alliance must include the Congress (although this is in conflict with Mamata Banerjee's view). It remains to be seen whether those opposition leaders who were more than willing to lend Prashant Kishor the poll strategist an ear will do the same to Prashant Kishor the Congress leader if he joins the party.

Further, in his presentation last year, there were several points to which the Gandhi siblings reputedly did not agree. Since Kishor is making a fresh presentation now, it is not immediately known whether he has done away with the sticking points or is trying to convince the Gandhis. But one thing is clear - if Kishor comes on board, whether as a strategist or as a strategizing party leader, the Congress will be changed radically as Kishor knows that in its present shape the party cannot take on the might of the BJP. The way Kishor tackles internal pressure from senior Congress leaders and the way he is able to convince them and bring them on board is going to decide whether he will be as successful with the Congress as he has been with other parties, although his stint as a leader of the JD(U) (the only time he joined a political party earlier) was not successful.