Prashant Kishor refuses to join Congress
New Delhi:
Election strategist Prashant Kishor today said he has rejected Congress’ invitation to join the party. Mr Kishor’s several rounds of talks with the Congress leadership over the past two weeks have come to an end with this development.
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Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said earlier today that party chief Sonia Gandhi has formed an “empowered action group” for the 2024 general elections, and invited Mr Kishor to join the party as part of the group with defined responsibility. Did. Surjewala tweeted, “…We appreciate his efforts and suggestions given to the party.”
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Mr Kishor, in his presentation to the Congress leadership, suggested that the party should fight alone in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha, and form alliances in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra, to which Rahul Gandhi agreed. Mr Kishor is understood to have said that the Congress should focus on 370 Lok Sabha seats in 2024.
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“I rejected the Congress’s liberal offer to join the party as part of the EAG and take responsibility for the elections. In my humble opinion, the party needs to fix its deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms. Needs more leadership and collective will than me,” Mr Kishor tweeted, referring to the Empowered Action Group, or EAG.
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Inviting Mr Kishor to join the Congress not only on ideological grounds, but also because of his links with political rivals such as Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, a section of leaders protested. .
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Congress sources said Mr Kishor did not fully attend last week during his meeting with Sonia Gandhi and the eight-member special team set up to discuss the issue.