Having recently secured a major victory in the West Bengal Assembly polls, the Trinamool Congress does not appear to be taking any chances. According to recent reports, the Mamata Banerjee -led party has brought his Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) on board till the next Assembly elections take place in 2026. A Lok Sabha election is also slated to take place during this time.
As per a News 18 report that quotes sources, IPAC will continue to operate with the same set-up as earlier, including their office and field work. It is unclear exactly what role Kishor himself will play, having said soon after the Bengal poll victory that he had "had enough" and now wished to do something else in life.
But after the election, Kishor was seen with All-India Trinamool Congress President Abhishek Banerjee in several places including the swearing in ceremony of Mamata Banerjee and DMK chief Stalin.
On June 16, a very senior Trinamool Congress leader told IANS on condition of anonymity, "So, it has been decided by the party that Prashant Kishor and his team will be working closely with the party and the government for the next five years - till the 2026 assembly election. There is Lok Sabha election in 2024 and the party wants Mamata Banerjee to become the prime opposition face. Kishor will also work on that."
Another senior party leader said, "Prashant Kishor will not be managing the day-to-day activities but he will be there providing all possible assistance to the party."
The IPAC founder who had worked with Mamata Banerjee and her party in the run-up to the elections had repeatedly predicted the BJP's loss, facing tremendous backlash from the party and its supporters over the last few months.
The "Duare Sarkar'' (government at door step) scheme and "Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chaye'' (Bengal wants its daughter) slogan were some of Kishor's masterstrokes that are believed to have swung the tide in favour of TMC. The outreach programmes of Kishor helped the TMC regain its lost ground across the state.
In recent days, the poll strategist is once again making headlines, having met up with Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar for lunch in Mumbai. While the two have kept mum over the details, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik clarified recently that there had been no discussions about appointing Kishor as a strategist for the NCP.
