New Delhi: The Congress committee formed to make a decision over poll-strategist Prashant Kishor's proposal to join the grand old party has submitted its report to the party president Sonia Gandhi. The committee members are now holding a meeting at 10 Janpath in Delhi with the party chief, mentioned an ANI report quoting sources.
The panel of eight leaders formed by the Congress president included KC Venugopal, Digvijaya Singh, Ambika Soni, Randeep Surjewala, Jairam Ramesh, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made the report after discussing at length Kishor's strategy plan and deliberated with several senior leaders while giving their suggestions to Gandhi and taking it forward in order to revive the grand old party.
The leaders are currently holding a meeting at Sonia Gandhi's residence and are awaiting a final call by the chief.
This comes amid reports that the election strategist held talks with ruling TRS president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao over two days. However, K.T. Rama Rao confirmed on Sunday that Prashant Kishor’s Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) is officially working for the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and not the poll-startegist.
Congress leaders in favour of Kishor's entry
On Kishor's entry into the Congress fold, though some senior leaders had reservations keeping in view his involvement with a number of political parties including the BJP, JDU, TMC and Congress in the past, a majority of them have favoured it but left it to the Congress president to take a final call.
Some senior leaders like Digivijaya Singh have said that Kishor has come out with a concrete strategy plan and the committee has discussed it further and said it would help the party.
Singh along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ambika Soni, K C Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, Jairam Ramesh, P Chidambaram and Randeep Surjewala are among those in the panel formed by Sonia Gandhi, who sat for several hours and held many rounds of deliberations during this week. They have also met many senior Congress leaders and Kishor during these deliberations.
Kishor had earlier met some leaders of the G-23 in the Congress, when he had also met some opposition leaders including Sharad Pawar, suggesting that in order to oust Narendra Modi, the opposition should contest polls unitedly, according to a PTI report.
He had asserted that for this the Congress has to be strengthened by handing over the party to a non-Gandhi, they said.
Kishor, in his strategy plan for 2024 Lok Sabha elections and other state elections in several states, has suggested a number of measures including the poll strategy plan, structural and organisational changes in the party and on alliances with other parties.
An 85-page power point presentation by Kishor was also doing the rounds on social media in which he recommended a non-Gandhi leadership for the Congress party that would have high impact in elections, however, he commented on the presentation after it went viral on social media saying that it was "old and fake".
He has also suggested in this presentation the reincarnation of the Congress, preserving its soul and creating a new body, as the need of the hour. Kishor also noted that without a strong Congress there cannot be a functional UPA and hence the leadership should focus to rebuild the party.
He further suggested in this "old presentation, that the Congress should leverage the role and capacity of the UPA chairperson position to consolidate its support with erstwhile Congress leaders who have substantial electoral base and grassroots presence in key regions while continuing with AICC presidentship to keep the Congress together, but have a non-Gandhi as working president or vice president of the party to work effectively on the ground.