Prashant Kishor
Decision on Prashant Kishor's joining Congress soon: Reports
New Delhi/IBNS: The decision of whether election strategist Prashant Kishor would join the Congress party or not would be announced soon after his third meeting with Sonia Gandhi, possibly tomorrow, media reports said.
Kishor will have a one-on-one meeting with the Congress president, according to NDTV's sources.
Sonia Gandhi had appointed a group of Congress leaders to examine Prashant Kishor's proposal on the party's revival and future poll strategy, for upcoming state elections with the main focus on the 2024 national election.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is not a part of the panel but his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is.
Last week, PK met with the Gandhis and made his presentation for the first time.
Parts of the presentation were shown to different Congress leaders, including the party's two Chief Ministers, Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel.
On Wednesday, Kishor met Sonia Gandhi at her home in another round of talks, the fourth one in recent days.
It was also attended by senior leaders Jairam Ramesh, Ambika Soni, KC Venugopal, besides Sonia Gandhi and Prashant Kishor. Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel too joined the team.
At the meeting, Ashok Gehlot reportedly grilled Kishor on his political ambitions.
"How long will PK survive in the party, given his short-lived stint in politics so far," Gehlot asked, according to NDTV's sources close to the strategist.
To which, Kishor reportedly shot back saying: "It is up to you how much you listen to me."
A report on the matter is expected within 72 hours, Congress had said on Wednesday.
Among other things, Kishor has asked Congress to focus on 370 Lok Sabha seats where the party has the best chances of winning.
Details of the seats were not given. Kishor feels the Congress should go solo in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha while in states like Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra it should ally with like-minded parties.
The roadmap presented by Kishor is being discussed by party leaders.
The upcoming Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections are also in focus.
In December 2021, Kishor had said that Congress lost more than 90 per cent of elections in the last 10 years and its leadership is "not the divine right" of an individual.
The latest meetings followed embarrassing defeats faced by the party in five states: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur.
The Congress is soon going to hold a brainstorming camp, likely to be held in Udaipur in Rajasthan on May 14-16. Over 700 Congress leaders are expected to attend it.
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