Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has reportedly met senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, nearly three years after his acrimonious split with the party. The meeting comes weeks after the Bihar Assembly elections, in which Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party contested against both the BJP and the Mahagathbandhan alliance, of which the Congress is an important partner.
Although sources in both camps have sought to downplay the importance of the interaction, the meeting has drawn attention given Kishor’s strained history with the Congress leadership. Since his break with the party, Kishor has frequently criticised it and, during the recent Bihar campaign, had dismissed issues such as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of vote theft as irrelevant to the state’s electoral dynamics.
The electoral outcome, however, proved bleak for Kishor. The Jan Suraaj Party failed to win a single seat, with 236 of its 238 candidates — around 99.16% — forfeiting their deposits. The Congress, too, performed poorly, managing victories in only six of the 61 seats it contested, a sharp decline from its tally of 19 seats in the 2020 elections.
A complicated past with the Gandhis
Kishor’s relationship with the Gandhi family stretches back several years, spanning his role as a political strategist and later as an independent political actor. After being expelled from the JD(U) in 2020, he reached out to the Gandhis in 2021 with a roadmap aimed at reviving the Congress. Formal discussions began the following year.
In April 2022, Kishor made a detailed presentation to the party’s top leadership at Sonia Gandhi’s residence at 10, Janpath. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were present, along with several senior leaders. Following the presentation, Sonia Gandhi, who was then Congress president, decided to constitute a committee to examine Kishor’s proposals. At that stage, Kishor had indicated his willingness to formally join the party.
Soon after, Sonia Gandhi announced the formation of an “Empowered Action Group 2024” to address the party’s organisational and electoral challenges, even as deliberations on Kishor’s suggestions continued. However, the talks eventually collapsed when Kishor declined the Congress leadership’s offer to be part of the group. He reportedly sought greater authority and operational freedom than what was being proposed.
In a statement at the time, the Congress said that after discussions with Kishor, the party president had invited him to join the Empowered Action Group with a defined role, an offer he chose to turn down. The party added that it valued his inputs and efforts.
Kishor responded swiftly, stating that while he had declined the offer, his view was that the Congress needed strong leadership and collective resolve to undertake deep, structural reforms, rather than relying on him to fix entrenched problems.
Several senior Congress leaders, including those who had closely examined Kishor’s presentation, were reportedly uneasy about overhauling the party’s structure based on the recommendations of an external figure they were not fully convinced about, contributing to the eventual breakdown of talks.
Also Read: Prashant Kishor On Congress: They Ruined My Track Record, Won’t Work With Them Again https://www.vibesofindia.com/prashant-kishor-on-congress-they-ruined-my-track-record-wont-work-with-them-again/
