On Friday, poll strategist Prashant Kishor met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar at the latter’s Silver Oak residence in Mumbai, triggered talks within political circles about the two coming together for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
As per the sources, Kishor met Pawar and talked about the third front for the 2024 elections.
Kishor is likely to meet every leader who extended support to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and DMK’s M.K. Stalin during the recent Assembly elections. Both Banerjee and Stalin emerged as big winners in the elections held earlier this year. Kishor had played a key role in Banerjee’s victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections.
There are strong speculations that the discussions were related to the 2024 general elections and bringing together non-NDA parties to put up a united fight in 2024 to unseat the BJP.
Kishor had declared after the recent Assembly poll results that he was done and wanted to “quit this space”.
“I do not want to continue what I am doing. I have done enough. It is time for me to take a break and do something else in life. I want to quit this space,” Kishor had told NDTV.
The meeting at the NCP chief’s home has fired buzz about his “Mission 2024”. The meeting lasted for almost three hours in which the duo chatted on various issues, NCP leaders said. Kishor reached Silver Oak, Pawar’s residence in south Mumbai, around 11.00 am and left around 2.00 pm. The visit assumes significance as it is believed the NCP chief wants a united forum of Opposition parties to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
NCP leader Jayant Patil also joined the meeting. Senior NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal said that Pawar will consider Kishor’s suggestions. “He (Kishor) is a successful election strategist and has helped various parties win the polls. I don’t know the exact reason behind the meeting but if he comes with a suggestion, the NCP chief will certainly consider it,” Bhujbal said.
Deputy Ajit Pawar downplayed the meeting, saying that Kishor has already said he will not be a political strategist anymore.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that many leaders are in touch with Kishor. Kishor had met Uddhav Thackeray too in 2019 before the latter became chief minister.
Kishor recently helped the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress win the West Bengal Assembly elections and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M. Stalin win the Tamil Nadu polls.
Despite Kishor’s refusal to rejoin politics in the near future, many are still hopeful that the political consultant could go for a major political role.