End of the Road for Prashant Kishor or a Politician Waiting in the Wings? What Next as Poll Strategist Takes a 'Break'

In a move that is likely to increase the headache of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh — fresh out of a battle with state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu — his principal adviser and election strategist Prashant Kishor quit on Thursday, just ahead of the 2022 assembly elections. In a letter to Singh, Kishor said he had decided to take a temporary break from active role in public life. “As you are aware, in view of my decision to take a temporary break from active role in public life, I have not been able to take over the responsibilities as your Principal Advisor. Since I am yet to decide on my future course of action, I write to request you to kindly relieve me from this responsibility. I take this opportunity to thank you for considering me for this position,” Kishor said.

So what next for the election strategist who has been credited with scripting the success story of several politicians? News18 takes a look at the life and times of Prashant Kishor.

Who is the man with the midas touch?

Prashant Kishor is credited with turning elections on their head, successfully delivering big wins while rooting for the underdog. He single-handedly shifted the focus from politicians to political communication strategy when it came to designing election campaigns.

Kishor started his career as a public health expert and worked for the United Nations for eight years before taking the political plunge. Ahead of the 2014 general elections, Kishore worked closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election campaign. He parted ways with the BJP thereafter and is credited with bringing all opposition parties together in Bihar to script a massive victory of JD(U), RJD and Congress combine in 2015.

In preparation for the 2014 general elections, Kishor launched his Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), a media and publicity company in 2013 that became the force behind Narendra Modi – the former chaiwala who became prime minister of India. Kishor is also credited with crafting Modi’s national campaign with innovative marketing and advertising campaigns. The Chai pe Charcha discussions, pathbreaking 3D rallies, the Run for Unity, and Manthan programmes were all his brainchild.

He is said to have been a key member in Modi’s team driving strategies for months in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

After the BJP registered a landslide win and came to power, Kishor parted ways with Modi and converted the (CAG) into a specialist policy outfit, the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC).

In September 2018, he joined the Janata Dal (United) under the tutelage of Nitish Kumar. However, he was expelled in 2020 for openly criticising Kumar’s supportive stand on Citizenship Amendment Act.

Besides, he has been instrumental in bringing Jagan Mohan Reddy to power in Andhra Pradesh, MK Stalin in Tamil Nadu and Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi.

The Bengal factor

Perhaps the highest point of Kishor’s career was on May 3, 2021, when a wheelchair-bound Mamata Banerjee stormed to power in West Bengal, defeating the BJP in a bitterly fought vitriolic political campaign that came to be known as one that will set the trend for 2024 general elections. Before the polls, the strategist had famously announced that he would quit if the BJP won more than 100 seats. The TMC had secured 213 seats, while the BJP won 77.

Mamata Banerjee‘s Trinamool Congress has got Prashant Kishor’s Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) on board till next assembly elections in 2026.

According to sources, Kishor’s organisation will continue with the same set-up as before, office and their field presence included. This comes a month after the political strategist had claimed to “quit” as the ‘backroom boss’ or the election manager who led several parties to victory.

Banerjee’s victory provided the much-needed shot in the arm for the Opposition, which has been trying to cobble together an alliance to take on the might of the BJP in the 2024 general elections.

Third front — a distant dream?

After scripting success in Bengal, Kishor was seen in talks with NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar and the Gandhis of the Congress, signalling that plans were afoot to come up with a solid strategy to counter the BJP. To add to this, Banerjee had asked like-minded parties to come together at the earliest so that a roadmap for 2024 could be prepared.

While Kishor had shot down the idea of a third front, calling it a non-starter, sources say the strategist is keen to project a united bloc as the only alternative to the BJP — a lofty idea considering several attempts to unite the opposition in the past have not yielded results.

Could this then mean that Kishor is looking for a bigger political innings?

The congress connect

Kishor’s meeting with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka amid the power tussle in Punjab grabbed eyeballs as sources said something “bigger” was on the agenda than the infighting threatening to destabilise the party. The Congress is likely to take a final call on Kishor’s induction “soon”. His entry may also be accompanied by a few key organisational changes in the party.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has brainstormed with senior party leaders recently on the pros and cons of the poll strategist joining the party, sources said. Senior Congress leaders A K Antony, Mallikarjun Kharge, Kamal Nath, Ambika Soni, Harish Rawat, K C Venugopal and some others attended the meeting held at Gandhi’s residence on July 22, they added.

The main agenda of the meeting convened by Gandhi was to discuss the pros and cons of having the poll strategist in the party and what role should be assigned to him if he joins the Congress, the sources said. Most of the leaders who attended the meeting agreed that Kishor joining the Congress would be beneficial for the party, they added.

At a time like this, despite a section of the Congress revolting against the idea of a rank outsider calling the shots, the party feels the import is a necessity and is now ready to cling on to any hope for 2024.

The road, however, is not so smooth. Sources close to Kishor say he is very wary of the party and if he does take charge, it will be with the condition and assurance that he would be given an “almost” free hand like he got in West Bengal.

Even after a bitter fallout with Prashant Kishor post the 2017 UP polls, where many in the Congress openly criticised the election strategist for misleading the top leadership, the grand old party now realises it needs some of Kishor’s magic to maintain its political relevance.

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