New Delhi: A lack of commitment to the Congress ideology and Prashant Kishor’s past associations with various political parties came in the way of the poll manager’s attempts to join the grand old party. Interestingly, this was Kishor’s second attempt at becoming part of the Congress and then working towards its revival ahead of the 2024 national elections.
Last year too, Kishor had lengthy discussions with the Gandhis, Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka, who gave him a patient hearing. Sonia had then tasked a group of trusted aides like AK Antony, Ambika Soni and Mallikarjun Kharge to review Kishor’s proposals and suggest a suitable role for him in the party. According to party insiders, Kishor’s suggestions like radically revamping the grand old party and having a direct line of communication with the Gandhis were not liked by the veterans, who felt the Congress could not be run like a corporate house.
One year later, much of the reservations against Kishor’s induction remained the same but the ideology factor shot into prominence. The seniors appreciated the analysis done by the poll manager but wanted him to commit to the Congress ideology and sever all links with the various parties that he worked for in the past or was in touch via his company, the Indian Political Action Committee.
The I-PAC signing a pact with TRS in Telangana in the middle of Kishor’s discussions with the Congress and the fact that I-PAC had finalized a similar pact with the TMC in West Bengal last year, were red-flagged by some of the veterans who reviewed the poll manager’s proposals over the past 10 days.
Though Kishor pointed out that he had distanced himself from his company, which was working with the regional parties, the Congress leaders were not convinced with the explanation. Sources in the know of things said that Kishor was offered a key role as part of an empowered action group 2024 but the strategist wanted to lead the panel, something the high command was not comfortable with.
Besides, an eminent position for an outsider within the Congress system would have diminished the role of several veterans, who have been involved in preparing strategy and managing poll campaigns for decades. Naturally, the eight-member panel reviewing Kishor’s proposals was divided over the issue of his induction, even though it agreed with most of his formulations.
Among those who were opposed to giving sweeping powers to Kishor included Digvijay Singh, Jairam Ramesh, Ambika Soni and Randeep Surjewala. Finally, it was realized that outsourcing the revival strategy to an outsider could send a message among the supporters that the Congress was not able to decide for itself and put the voters off.
Also read: Prashant Kishor declines Congress offer, says 'party needs collective will to fix problems'
