- Saturday, November 23, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
POLL strategist Prashant Kishor, who has helped a number of political parties in India script memorable victories, on Monday (21) met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar in New Delhi. It was the second meeting between the two men this month and took place amid heightened speculation about a possible Third Front to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to sources, Kishor had a closed-door meeting with Pawar, 80, for about one-and-half hours. It happened a day before the NCP’s general body which is scheduled to be held at Pawar’s residence.
Pawar calls Opposition parties’ meeting
Pawar, a former chief minister of Maharashtra and central minister, reportedly called a meeting of the Opposition parties on Tuesday (22) to explore possibilities of a joint fight against Modi’s BJP, not just in the 2024 general election but also in the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections next year.
Invitations were sent to several parties on behalf of Pawar and former BJP leader and central finance minister Yashwant Sinha, who recently joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of Mamata Banerjee, who defeated the BJP with the assistance of Kishore in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal last month.
Kishor met Pawar at his residence in Mumbai on June 11, fuelling speculation that the Opposition parties were inclined to make a poll alliance against the BJP after the Bengal results. Neither of the two individuals spoke to the media after the meeting.
Kishore had played an instrumental role behind the BJP’s historic win in the 2014 general election but later became a successful election strategist for several non-National Democratic Alliance (led by the BJP) parties as well.
While Kishor reportedly wanted to quit poll strategising following the Bengal results, it has been said that his I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee) will continue to give strategic help to the TMC till the state’s next Assembly elections in 2026.
