Prashant Kishor turns down ‘generous offer’ to join Congress

Poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday declined Congress’ “generous offer” to join the party as a part of the empowered action group formed by Sonia Gandhi. After declining the offer to join the Congress, Kishor on Tuesday said that the party needs “leadership and collective will” to fix deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms. Taking to Twitter, Kishor said, “I declined the generous offer of Congress to join the party as part of the Empowered Action Group (EAG) and take responsibility for the elections. In my humble opinion, more than me, the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms.” Kishor has held several meetings in the last 15 days with Congress’s top leadership and gave a proposal to revamp the party ahead of the 2024 general election. Kishor had given a detailed presentation with a road map for the 2024 General elections.

Following the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in October last year, Kishor had said that the people are looking forward to an opposition led by the Grand Old Party (the Congress), but the party first needs to fix its deep-rooted problems and remove its structural weaknesses. “People looking for a quick, spontaneous revival of GOP-led opposition based on the Lakhimpur Kheri incident are setting themselves up for a big disappointment. Unfortunately, there are no quick-fix solutions to the deep-rooted problems and structural weakness of GOP,” Kishor had said in a tweet.

Earlier today, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi constituted an Empowered Action Group 2024 and invited Kishor to join the party as part of the group with defined responsibility, but he declined. “Following a presentation and discussions with Prashant Kishor, Congress President has constituted a Empowered Action Group 2024 and invited him to join the party as part of the group with defined responsibility. He declined. We appreciate his efforts and suggestion given to party,” Surjewala tweeted.

This came after the Congress panel set up by president Sonia Gandhi to work out a revival plan, as suggested by poll strategist Prashant Kishor, submitted a report on its findings on Friday. Sources said that Kishor, in his presentation to the Congress leadership, suggested that Congress should fight alone in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha, and it should form alliances in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra to which Rahul Gandhi has agreed. Kishor is learnt to have said that Congress should focus on 370 Lok Sabha constituencies for the 2024 general elections.

According to Congress leaders, Kishor had not demanded any position or mandate, but had offered a plan that he believed should be implemented, ranging from restructuring of the organisation to public messaging. After the recent poll debacle in five states, Congress had been holding negotiations with Kishor. The results of five Assembly polls came as a shock to Congress which was hoping to do well to revive its prospects for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and to fend off the emerging challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress to replace it as the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in the country. Earlier, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has openly praised Prashant Kishor, saying that he is a “brand”. Senior Congress leader Veerapa Moily has said that those opposing Kishor’s entry to the party are “anti-reformers”.

Meanwhile, after Kishor declined the Congress offer to join the party, former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu met him on Tuesday and shared a picture with him saying “old friends are the best”. “Had a wonderful meeting with my old friend PK … Old wine, Old gold and Old friends still the best!!!” Sidhu said on Twitter, sharing his picture with Kishor.