Congress brass undecided on Kishor joining party

New Delhi: The Congress high command, consisting of party president Sonia Gandhi, former president Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, are walking the tightrope on the issue of inducting political strategist Prashant Kishor in the party.
While Kishor has asked for complete autonomy once given some responsibility in the party, the Congress leadership is weighing the expected reaction of its senior leaders to Kishor seeking full freedom in which he will be answerable to no one else but the Gandhis.
He is seeking the role of campaign manager for the Congress (as this newspaper wrote on 17 July—Kishor looking for a big role in Congress) which he will execute from the post of general secretary. Kishor, during his interactions with the Gandhis, has proposed a series of changes and new ideas that the party should implement, mostly at the ground level, to emerge as a credible opponent to the BJP in the 2024 general elections.
In case this happens, the top leaders of the parties, excluding the Gandhi family, will have no option but to accept and implement Kishor’s orders. Such a scenario is likely to create a problem, as two senior party leaders close to the Gandhis told The Sunday Guardian.
“As of now, I don’t think there will be open revolt (if Kishor joins at such a senior level and is answerable only to the Gandhis), but it will definitely create problems as there are senior leaders who are not very happy with the discussion about him being offered a top position in the party hierarchy. We will have to wait and see how things move, as right now the party high command is weighing all views,” a senior party leader told The Sunday Guardian.
Another party leader said that Rahul Gandhi has worked with Kishor in the past (in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh 2017 polls) and the relationship did not end on a happy note. “It is a non-starter (Kishor working in a big role in the party). He wants complete autonomy and being answerable to no-one else but the top leadership. I don’t think the party high command can do that as it will antagonize a sizable number of senior leaders. Kishor, though, is right in his demands. If he works with his hands tied, he can not do what the Gandhis expect him to do,” a former Congress Union Minister said.
Party leaders said that inducting Kishor will also give a message that the Gandhis have failed to handle the elections and, hence, have inducted a professional. “His joining, assuming it happens on his terms, will create a power centre in the party as he will become the number four (after Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra). In a party like Congress, this will cause a lot of internal problems,” the leader said.