Congress to decide on Prashant Kishor's entry after Rahul Gandhi returns

To hold Chintan Shivir next month to discuss challenges ahead of '24 polls

Responding to speculation of the impending entry of political strategist Prashant Kishor into the Congress, a source said a decision on the nature of the relationship between Kishor and the party will be taken only after Rahul Gandhi returns from a foreign sojourn “in the next four or five days”.

The party circumvented the issue and instead announced it will hold a Chintan Shivir (internal consultation) in Udaipur, Rajasthan, on May 13 and 14.

An ‘Empowered Action Group’ has been constituted to address “political challenges” ahead of the 2024 general elections, although there is a Congress Working Committee in place that traditionally addresses such issues.

Monday’s meeting, called by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to discuss Kishor’s status, was attended by KC Venugopal, Digvijaya Singh, Ambika Soni, Randeep Surjewala, Jairam Ramesh, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among others. Kishor is said to enjoy the confidence of Gandhi Vadra.

Several committees have been designated to draw up resolutions for the Chintan Shivir. The political committee will be headed by Mallikarjun Kharge, the committee on farmers and agriculture will be headed by Bhupinder Hooda, the economic panel will be led by P Chidambaram, and the committee on social and empowerment will be headed by Salman Khurshid. Interestingly, “matters relating to organisational restructuring and strengthening will be examined” at the Chintan Shivir, said party spokesman Randeep Surjewala.

The deliberations at the Shivir will be focused on the “current political and economic situation and the challenges they pose to our society”, Surjewala said.

“Issues relating to the welfare and well-being of farmers and farm labourers, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBCs, religious and linguistic minorities and women, social justice and empowerment and youth will also be discussed in detail. In addition, matters relating to organisational restructuring and strengthening will be examined,” he added.

But he did not address the elephant in the room.

On April 16, Kishor made a presentation to the party leadership in which he challenged many existing notions, assumptions, and strategies about the Congress.

He suggested a drastic surgery in the way the party was run. Apparently, many of the suggestions found favour with the top leadership of the party, which possibly sensed the Gandhi family’s support for Kishor's proposals.

An eight-member committee headed by P Chidambaram was tasked by Sonia Gandhi to evaluate Kishor’s suggestions. These included focusing on how to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections and not just with the Congress but via deals done with alliance partners.

Many in the party are critical of this approach. “Never trust someone who is friends with your enemy,” tweeted Congress MP Manickam Tagore, on April 24, as the party prepared to decide how Kishor should be handled. He may have been referring to the fact that Kishor’s former organisation, Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), has landed a contract to help the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which is bitterly opposed to the Congress.

However, internally, the Congress has let Kishor know that he will have to choose between I-PAC, the business model that catapulted him to success as a political strategist, and the political organisation in which he will have to participate as a member.

Questions remain about whether Kishor’s prescriptions, which are innately disruptive, will be followed in the Assembly elections that are due – in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, in just a few months – or only in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

There is also the question of chief ministers. No Congress chief minister has been named in the groups that are to draw up the resolutions for the Chintan Shivir. If Kishor’s entry into the party is green-flagged (possibly next month), what will be the power dynamic between him and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, for instance? In Karnataka, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh, the Congress considers itself a player. Will Kishor’s entry upset the power line-up in the party in these states?

Party leaders say all these issues will likely be discussed by Rahul Gandhi when he returns and a final view will be taken then.  In the meantime, the party is conveying to its cadres that its internal preparations for 2024 and not Kishor’s role will be the organisational priority.