NEW DELHI: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor Pandey’s dalliance with the Congress ended on Tuesday with the former politely turning down the party’s offer to help it address some of the structural problems.
Prashant wanted to parachute into the Congress in the top echelons and deal with the Congress President directly; he also wanted a free hand in evolving a transformational strategy for the next general elections.
Possibly, Prashant realised well in time that there were few takers for his offer. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was the first to oppose his lateral entry into the party; Rahul saw in Prashant’s move an attempt to ride roughshod over others, instead of becoming a part of the collective leadership.
Congress chief spokesman and general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala broke the news that PK, as the poll strategist is known, was "invited to join the party as part of a group with a defined responsibility, but he declined. We appreciate his efforts and suggestions given to the party."
There was also a trust deficit with some Congress leaders suspecting Kishor of being a mole planted by the BJP. The scepticism about his intent is a throwback to the time when PK had worked in 2014 to bring Narendra Modi to power.
Also, recently, his outfit, Indian Political Action Committee, signed a contract with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi to help it in the Telangana Assembly elections; this proved to be Kishor’s nemesis. He was perceived to have violated Sonia Gandhi's condition that he should not work with any political party as in the past, if he joins the Congress.
Immediately after Surjewala's disclosure, Prashant also tweeted: "I declined the generous offer of the Congress to join the party as part of the EAG (Empowered Action Group) and take responsibility for the elections."
‘‘In my humble opinion, more than me, the party needs leadership and the collective will to fix the deep rooted structural problems through transformational reforms," he added.
He was invited to join the Empowered Action Group announced on Monday, the composition of which is yet to be announced.
Political observers feel the Congress leadership needs to connect with masses rather than play footsie with a poll strategist.
