Kishor's growing influence in Congress

Election strategist Prashant Kishor seems to be getting more say in decision-making in the Congress than was earlier presumed. Although he was appointed to advise the party on the 2017 Assembly polls in Punjab, he seems to be influencing the party leadership's choice of Rajya Sabha (RS) nominees too. Initially, the Congress had decided that Punjabi singer Hans Raj Hans, who joined the party from the Shiromani Akali Dal recently, would be one of its candidates for the two RS seats vacated by M S Gill and Ashwani Kumar. Hans' candidature was being pushed by the Amarinder Singh camp. But on Kishor's suggestion, Shamsher Singh Dullo got the nomination. Kishor's argument was Dullo would help the Congress net the Dalit Sikh vote in Punjab. The more important point is Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi went with Kishor's advice against Amarinder Singh's.