New Delhi: Prashant Kishor, political advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and known poll strategist met with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday. The meeting fuels speculation of a larger strategy at play, coordinated by opposition parties, in a bid to take on the BJP, reported The Indian Express.
The meeting, which was held at former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's residence in New Delhi, was not limited to solely discussing the Punjab elections, reported India Today. NDTV reported that Congress president Sonia Gandhi also attended the meeting virtually, going on to state that Kishor may play a significant role in getting the Congress "battle-ready" for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The meeting was also attended by former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and Congress' Punjab in-charge Harish Rawat, as well as All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal, which furthered speculation over the objectives of the meeting. Sources stated that the discussions were not "state-specific" and included larger political discussions, reported The Indian Express.
The meetings come at a time when opposition leaders, such as Mamata Banerjee, propose opposition parties form a united front against the BJP.
Kishor previously worked with Congress in managing Uttar Pradesh's 2017 elections, which was ultimately unsuccessful. However, Kishor is known to be on familiar terms with many opposition leaders, such as Trinamool Congress' Mamata Banerjee, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (DMK) M K Stalin, and the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal.
Kishor also met with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar thrice in the previous month. This furthered talk of a combined strategy by the opposition parties to take on the BJP. Kishor, however, denied reports which speculated his role in uniting non-Congress opposition parties. Both Kishor and Pawar at the time stated that "there can be no alliance against the BJP without the Congress, the only opposition party with a pan-Indian presence," reported NDTV.