Kishor’s possible Congress entry generates internal dissent

The Congress high command may have sought the help of “political aide” Prashant Kishor in a “last ditch attempt” to ensure that the party stays in its control, but the move has resulted in unhappiness among several of the party’s senior leaders. They are wondering why Kishor was being brought in, given that until recently, Congress’ political opponents were employing him to weaken the party, an objective which he managed to achieve to a large extent.

Since he started working for the then BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the 2014 general elections, Kishor and his company—indian-political Action Committee (I-pac)—have provided their services to the Grand Alliance (JDU, RJD and Congress) in Bihar in the November 2015 elections; to the Congress-samajwadi Party alliance in the February 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections; to the Congress in Punjab in February 2017; to YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh in April 2019; to Aam Aadmi Party for Delhi in the January 2020 elections; to the

DMK for the April 2021 Tamil Nadu elections; and finally to the All India Trinamool Congress for the April 2021 West Bengal elections and Goa elections.

Of these eight states where Kishor and I-PAC were active, their employers won in six—bihar, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu—while they lost in Uttar Pradesh and Goa.

Out of this, in Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal, Kishor’s employers managed to retain power. In the rest three— Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu—they defeated the incumbent government, a feat that could not be replicated in UP and Goa.

According to a senior Congress leader known for putting his views articulately, what is being marketed as “achievements by Kishor and I-PAC” is in fact the damage that Congress has suffered in the hands of Kishor. “Since 2017, he has worked with our political opponents and strengthened their hands by poaching our leaders—from Assam to West Bengal to Goa, this has been his way of working. To be honest, I am aghast that our leaders are engaging with him for the 2024 polls. Will he break his professional ties with the TMC, YSR Congress and his possible future contract with AAP if he is given a crucial role in the Congress? All these political parties are directly challenging us in their respective states where they are in power. In Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the AAP is expected to fight the coming Assembly elections with its full might and basically try to defeat us. So how will Kishor handle this? On the one hand he will be working for us for 2024, but on the other he will