Prashant Kishore Banks On Gandhi Siblings to Save the Day

BENGALURU: In a surprising turn of events, election strategist Prashant Kishor has reportedly told the Congress leadership to project either of the Gandhi siblings as its Chief Minister candidate in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections. Congress is going through a transitional phase; therefore, winning the 2017 UP elections will be touted as the first step towards reclaiming its long lost pride. Well, it’s easier said than done! The emergence of regional parties like Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and Mayawati’s Bahujan Samajwadi Party along with the prominence of BJP has marginalized Congress in the state.

However, the wretched condition of Congress in UP, for the best part is its own fault, due to an ineffective leadership and the failure to address its shrinking support base. And, that’s where Prashant Kishor, the master strategist behind Narendra Damodardas Modi’s remarkable swooping of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, comes in. Falling out of favour with the BJP, he then joined Nitish Kumar led JDU-RJD-Congress coalition in Bihar, guiding them to power in the 2015 State elections. So far, his CV looks really impressive with a strike rate of two in two. Now, hired by Rahul Gandhi and faced with an uphill task of rejuvenating the Congress for the 2019 elections, Prashant Kishor has identified UP as the keystone.

Prashant Kishor’s winning formula so far has involved the projection of a charismatic leader—Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar, and it seems like he is following the same line in UP as well. But, to triumph in a state like UP with 408 assembly constituencies and particularly, for a party which could win only in two Lok Sabha seats in 2014, it is ambitious to say the least. By flaunting either Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the next CM candidate, he is trying to resolve Congress’ leadership failings and thereby put a plug to its shrinking support base.

Kishor has also proposed that the projection of a Brahmin, probably Sheila Dixit, according to recent reports, as CM candidate for the upcoming elections if both Rahul and Priyanka aren’t inclined towards contesting in UP. The reckoning behind projecting a Brahmin as CM is supposedly to make inroads into the Brahmin vote bloc that represents about 10-12 percent of the voters in the constituency. Though a year to go, the UP elections already promise to be an intriguing affair. Can Congress strengthen its foothold? Can Prashant Kishor score a hat-trick? Will “Pappu” save the day? Let’s wait and see.

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