Prashant Kishor Likely To Join Congress This Week, Final Talks With Sonia Gandhi Tomorrow: Report

This comes as the Congress leaders are stated to be still examining about 600 slides presented by Kishor for strengthening the organisation, ANI reported sources as saying.

Election strategist Prashant Kishor (File Image/Getty)

New Delhi: Election strategist Prashant Kishor is likely to join the Congress in the next few days after two days of talks with the grand old party’s top brass.

This comes as the Congress leaders are stated to be still examining about 600 slides presented by Kishor for strengthening the organisation, ANI reported sources as saying.

Kishor will hold talks with Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi from tomorrow.

Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and party national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are also likely to take part in the deliberations on the issue of the poll strategist joining the grand old party.

Sources close to the election strategist told the news agency that Kishor may join the Congress in the next three to four days.

Sources added that talks on joining the Congress are only between the Gandhis and the poll strategist.

“The committee formed by Congress chief has no link or say in the joining of Kishor. The party leaders have just seen a part of the presentation,” ANI reported sources as saying.

“A 600-slide presentation has been submitted by Kishor to Congress. No one has so far seen the complete presentation,” sources added.

The poll strategist had met the Congress interim president at her official residence earlier on April 18. He had met her on April 16 as well.

The grand old party is by evaluating Kishor’s proposal gearing up for the 2024 general elections.

Congress national general secretary KC Venugopal had earlier said that Kishor had given a detailed presentation with a road map for the 2024 general elections.

Responding to posers, Venugopal said Kishor’s role in the Congress will be known within a week.

This comes as sources had earlier told ANI that Kishor, in his presentation, suggested that Congress should fight alone in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha, adding the party should form alliances in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra to which Rahul Gandhi has agreed.

The poll strategist is learnt to have said that the party should focus on 370 Lok Sabha constituencies for the 2024 general elections.

These meetings also assume significance in the backdrop of Congress’ poll preparations for the Gujarat and Himachal Assembly elections later this year.

The Congress is seeking to restart negotiations with Kishor after the recent poll debacle in five states, including politically crucial Uttar Pradesh.