A meeting was held between poll strategist Prashant Kishor and the Congress top brass at party chief Sonia Gandhi's Delhi residence on Saturday, 16 April, where Kishor gave a presentation on the roadmap for 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The grand old party has also proposed that Kishor join the Congress, as per sources.
"Prashant Kishor gave a detailed presentation on 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The 2024 election strategy of the Congress is to be decided. The plan presented will be examined by a small group of people within the party. The Congress president (Sonia Gandhi) will decide who will lead the group," senior Congress leader KC Venugopal told reporters after the meeting.
The group will submit report within a week's time to the party chief for a final decision, he added.
The four-hour-long meeting has also renewed speculation over the possibility of Kishor joining the Congress. Sources told The Quint that a proposal about Kishor joining the party as a full-time leader, and not merely as a professional consultant, was also furthered.
A number of senior Congress leaders – including Mallikarjun Kharge, Digvijaya Singh, KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken, Ambika Soni, and Priyanka Gandhi – were in attendance at the meeting.
Upcoming State Polls Also Dicussed at the Meeting
In addition to a deliberation of the national political landscape and organisational suggestions for the Congress, an alliance between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls was also discussed at the meeting, sources told The Quint. The induction of a highly-sought-after Naresh Patel, a major Patidar leader in Gujarat, into the party was considered.
Saturday's meeting comes amid internal turmoil within the Gujarat Congress, with party leader Hardik Patel criticising the Congress leadership over the delay in inducting Naresh Patel into the Congress.
A Leuva Patidar leader and the chairman of the Shree Khodaldham Trust which manages the temple of goddess Khodiyar, Naresh Patel had announced in December that he was ready to take the political plunge. The BJP, the AAP, and the Congress have been attempting to draw him in ever since.
Last year, Kishor and the Gandhis had held several rounds of talks on building a consolidated front for the 2024 national election. Discussions on the poll strategist joining the party had also been held, but had collapsed due to some disagreements between the two sides, Priyanka Gandhi had indicated in January this year.
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