The Congress and Prashant Kishor parted ways on Tuesday after hectic parleys for two weeks as the poll strategist declined to accept party chief Sonia Gandhi's invitation to join them.
While there were differences within the Congress over his induction, Kishor felt that the party needed "leadership and collective will to fix the deep rooted structural problems more than him".
Kishor's second attempt in less than a year to join the Congress ended in a naught as both the parties were unable to iron out differences. Kishor reportedly wanted sweeping powers and a free hand in election management, but the party wanted a group of leaders to oversee the 2024 general elections.
The poll strategist also wanted structural reforms within the party including two different people as PM candidate and party chief. He wanted Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to lead Congress, but party leaders wanted Rahul Gandhi to become the chief again, according to a report by The Times of India.
After the Congress on Tuesday officially announced that Kishor will not be working for the party as he declined to be part of the empowered action group for the 2024 general elections, several party leaders toed the line.
KPCC president D K Shivakumar said that it is a decision taken at the national level and they are bound to abide by it. “Prasant Kishore had made valuable suggestions to strengthen the party at the national and state levels,” Shivakumar said.
However, former minister Priyank Kharge said that Kishor not joining will not hurt, “but it would have been good to work with him”. “We strongly believe Kishor’s experience, though it would have helped the party, is not a loss as such. Congress has a history and its strengths to win an election with or without Kishore,” Kharge was quoted as saying in a report.
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