New Delhi: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor met Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leadership in Vijayawada Saturday, creating a buzz in political circles about the possibility of his return to election management about two-and-a-half years after he had quit this space to take a plunge into politics in Bihar.
Sources in TDP told ThePrint that Kishor flew to Vijayawada with former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s son Nara Lokesh and held consultation with TDP chief Naidu.
Kishor, who had announced that he was discontinuing his role as a political consultant after the successful tie-up of his Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) with the Trinamool Congress in the 2021 West Bengal assembly polls, reached Vijayawada during the day with Lokesh and Shantanu Singh — a director at Showtime Consulting that has been handling the TDP’s campaign so far, said the sources.
The TDP sources also told ThePrint that Kishor will be playing the “role of a mentor” for Showtime Consulting in the lead up to the Andhra Pradesh state polls.
“He will be involved in every aspect of campaigning. He may not station himself in Andhra Pradesh permanently, but he will guide the members of Showtime Consulting is what has been decided,” said one of the sources.
While Kishor was one of the founders of I-PAC, Singh had been a part of the I-PAC’s core leadership team before he joined Showtime Consulting set up by Robbin Sharrma, a former director at I-PAC. I-PAC is currently led by Rishi Raj Singh, among the co-founders of the organisation along with Kishor.
ThePrint has reached both Showtime Robbin Sharma and Nara Lokesh over phone for comment on the meeting. The report will be updated if responses are received.
Meanwhile, Kishor told ThePrint, “I have met several politicians after starting the yatra [a reference to his ongoing Jan Suraaj Padyatra] in Bihar. It doesn’t mean that I am returning to poll consultancy. It’s all rubbish.”
As part of I-PAC, Kishor was considered instrumental in devising the YSR Congress Party’s (YSRCP) strategy for the 2019 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, which saw the party win the polls and leader Jagan Mohan Reddy becoming the chief minister of the state.
While I-PAC continues to be associated with YSRCP, Kishor is no longer its main driver, having taken into political activism in his home state Bihar in October 2022.
The next assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled for next year, which will also see the next Lok Sabha elections being held in the country.
In a social media post on X (previously Twitter) Saturday, I-PAC said, I-PAC has been working in collaboration with @YSRCParty since last year. Together, we’re dedicated to working tirelessly until @ysjagan secures a thumping victory again in 2024 and continues his unwavering efforts to better the lives of the people of Andhra Pradesh.”
Commenting on Kishor’s meeting with Naidu, YSRCP minister Ambati Rambabu said, “PK [Prashant Kishor] was YSRCP strategist last polls. Lokesh, Naidu were scornful of him, calling him ‘Bihari Dacoit’ etc names. Now they are coaxing him to rescue them. If material is not good, what can a marketing strategist do? This PK or that PK [Jana Sena party president Pawan Kalyan, who reportedly met Naidu to discuss seat sharing for 2024] cannot help save the TDP.”
Starting with Modi
As part of his Jan Suraaj Yatra, Kishor has been leading a march across the state, which is being seen as a precursor to his launch of a political party. A person close to Kishor in Bihar told ThePrint that the yatra, which is currently on a halt, is likely to resume on 27 December.
“There is no plan to halt the yatra completely as of now. It halts for two-to-three days every month. But its current format may change keeping the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in mind. Kishor might switch to a hybrid mode, where some part is in the form of a padyatra and some activity happens using cars,” the person said.
Since the padyatra will not be as continual as it is now, it will provide him the window to engage in other activities, the Jan Suraaj leader said, adding that a clear plan is yet to be drawn up by Kishor and his team.
Meanwhile, Kishor’s possible association with the TDP assumes significance as he has previously been engaged in a verbal duel with Naidu.
In March 2019, Naidu had called Kishor a “Bihari dacoit”, alleging the latter’s involvement in manipulation of electoral rolls. In response, Kishor had put out a social media post saying, ” An imminent defeat can rattle even the most seasoned politicians. So I am not surprised with the baseless utterances of N. Chandrababu Naidu. Sir ji, rather than using derogatory language that shows your prejudice and malice against Bihar, just focus on why people of AP [Andhra Pradesh] should vote for you again.”
As a political strategist, Kishor had shot to fame following his involvement in Narendra Modi’s 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate. He had reportedly started working with Modi in 2011, after returning from Chad, in north Africa, where he had been working as a public health professional.
While his association with Modi did not continue after the latter took charge as PM, Kishor went on to set up I-PAC with his partners from the earlier Association of Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG).
Over the subsequent years, he went on to work as a strategist with the Janata Dal (United)-Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar, Congress in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, YSRCP in AP, Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu, TMC in West Bengal.
He also briefly served as the vice-president of the JD (U) between 2018 and 2020. However, in 2020 he was reportedly expelled from the party for having “exceeded the party (line) and going public with his views”.
Later, Kishor also held talks with the Congress leadership, to join the party, but this did not materialise.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)