Sena’s invite to Prashant Kishor sparks buzz
MUMBAITHE : Shiv Sena set off a buzz on Tuesday by inviting poll strategist and Janata Dal (United) vice-president Prashant Kishor – the brain behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s famous ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ campaign in 2014 —to party chief Uddhav Thackeray’s residence in Bandra.
A party MP who did not wish to be named said Kishor would play a strategic role for the Shiv Sena in the summer general elections. But party spokesperson Sanjay Raut said Kishor had only made a courtesy call on behalf of the JD(U), which is a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp)-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.
“Uddhavji had a detailed meeting with Prashant Kishor and he will play a strategic role in the elections for Shiv Sena,” the Sena MP quoted above said. “He has the right credentials. His campaigns for the Congress’s Amarinder Singh in Punjab, K Chandrashekar Rao in Telangana and Nitish Kumar in Bihar have all been successful.”
But Raut, also a Rajya Sabha MP, said, “The Shiv Sena makes its own strategy and goes ahead with it. He [Kishor] is the vicepresident of JD(U), which is part of the NDA. He has come to meet [Thackeray] in that capacity.”
Raut denied that Kishor would play mediator between the Sena and BJP who, despite being allies, have not been on the best of terms with each other. “We do not need anybody [to mediate]. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is enough for the task,” he said.
Other Sena MPS said Kishor’s team was preparing a presentation on strategies for parliamentary and assembly polls for Thackeray later this week.
If the party officially confirms this, it would be the first time it will be taking the help of a private strategist for its election campaign. Earlier, the Shiv Sena relied on its union, the Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti, and the youth wing, Yuva Sena, to get the pulse of voters.
Kishor tweeted on Tuesday, “As part of NDA, we look forward to joining forces with you in Maharashtra to help secure victory in upcoming Lok Sabha elections and beyond.”