Prashant Kishor and the Congress Party!

The much-touted Prashant Kishor’s (PK) entry into Congress seems to be delayed, at least for now. One section of the media had dismissed the idea of his entry into Congress, while the other had stated that PK had spurned the offer due to the many riders from the Gandhis. PK, despite his cleverness, was trying to sail on two boats. When he tried his luck in the Congress party, he tied up a lucrative deal with an ambitious PM aspirant Chandrashekar Rao of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.

PK was in the wilderness after he was jobless, post-defeat of his employer Captain Amarinder Singh from Punjab. Prashant Kishor held a post equivalent to a Cabinet Minister, with a fat salary and perks. Following a landslide win of Mamata Banerjee and her party in the 2021 State elections, he managed a tie-up of his IPAC with the party until 2016. To try the luck of Trinamool as an All India party, he tried them in Goa, which bombed, possibly forcing a review and recall of his services for the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

None seemed to hurry to employ him when he tried his luck with the Congress party, which was in dire straits. The Uttar Pradesh loss has confirmed the long-known fact that the sickness in the once the national party is terminal. No face of Gandhi could revive it. For PK, they posed the best bet, and he proposed that he had the magic wand to reincarnate the Congress party. PK even expressed his willingness to join the party. Earlier, the Trinamool had a taste of his association, where he became the final figure, bypassing elders in the party and assuming unilateral leadership. There was a near rebellion in the party, and PK was distanced.

PK’s formulas for winning are now predictable. Hiring his organisation IPAC is incredibly expensive. His themes are freebies, which will bankrupt any party or State. West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are already reeling under the impact. He makes the top leader bow down and apologise for their party cadres and leaders’ sins, thus projecting that the king or queen is not wrong. PK would even scapegoat a few leaders to prove that the party was taking serious action. The rest of the plot, Dalit, weaker sections, minorities, and religion are all in his bag, used cleverly for one purpose only: winning.

I hear that he made a longish PowerPoint Presentation to Congress but touched their raw nerve: suggesting a change in the leadership. The second was the cost of promoting the party pan-India and reviving it as a national alternative, involving astronomical sums, some hinting at Rs.44,000 crores from now until 2024. A startled Gandhi family soon huddled. I guess the suggestion for a change in the top leadership might have aborted any attempt at PK’s entry into the INC.

What if Congress had accepted him into their party? Would he have torn the agreement papers he sighed with TRS just days ago? TRS is a sworn political opponent to Gandhis and the Congress party. PK’s attempts only show his desperation and utter disregard for political proprieties. I do not know if his offer to the Congress party and the refusal is scripted behind the scenes. It has indeed exemplified the party’s helplessness and the vulnerability of the Gandhis.

When political parties agree to stop announcing pre-poll sops and freebies, what will happen? The likes of Prashant Kishor will be diverting their business from harvesting the gullibility of our politicians.

Sampath Kumar

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