dailyO
Politics

How Prashant Kishor is back to calling the shots for SP-Congress alliance

Advertisement
Javed M Ansari
Javed M AnsariFeb 03, 2017 | 19:26

How Prashant Kishor is back to calling the shots for SP-Congress alliance

Written off by his critics and insecure politicians just a month ago, poll strategist Prashant Kishor has now emerged as the go-to man of the SP-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh.

He operates from the official residence of the chief minister at 5, Kalidas Marg, working closely with Akhilesh Yadav's poll managers.

Kishor's return to prominence barely months after he was shunted off to Punjab is hard to miss.

Advertisement

Pulled in to help stop the SP-Congress alliance from collapsing, he not just managed to prevail on both parties to seal the alliance, but is now handling the seat allocation between the two sides, and micro-managing the campaign strategy of both parties. 

From planning the joint rallies and road-shows of Akhilesh and Rahul Gandhi, to coining the slogan of "UP ko yeh saath pasand hai", Kishor has now begun to play a key role as the Assembly election campaign unfolds in UP.

pact-embed_020317071206.jpg
Kishor is now planning joint rallies and road-shows of Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi. (Photo: India Today) 

Initially, alliance-related negotiations from the Congress party's side were being carried out by Ghulam Nabi Azad and state party chief Raj Babbar.

The duo failed to clinch the alliance and at one stage, it appeared as if the two parties would go their separate ways - till Priyanka Gandhi stepped in and flew down Kishor to negotiate with the UP CM and save the pact.

In a matter of weeks, Kishor has not just made the Congress leadership realise his worth, he has also won the confidence of Akhilesh. So much so, that he has managed to persuade the SP chief to part with one seat held by the SP in Amethi and two in Rae Bareli.

Advertisement

This however wasn't the case a month ago. Kishor meeting Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh in Delhi at the height of the internecine war within the SP had aroused Akhilesh's suspicion, but Kishor appears to have earned his trust by playing the honest broker between the two parties, and also value-added to the campaign with his strategising and inputs.

Last updated: February 05, 2017 | 13:14
IN THIS STORY
Please log in
I agree with DailyO's privacy policy