Buzz on Prashant Kishor joining Congress

New Delhi: A day after Prashant Kishor held discussions with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, speculation has intensified over whether the poll strategist will join India's main opposition party.

Sources indicate the Gandhis and Prashant Kishor, during their talks, may have explored a formal role for the strategist in the party as it prepares big elections ahead, state and national. All three Gandhis were part of the discussions with Prashant Kishor at Rahul Gandhi's residence on Tuesday. It was not the first time, according to NDTV report

The meeting, sources asserted, was not about the Punjab or Uttar Pradesh polls as widely speculated, but about "something bigger" - a sign that Mr Kishor might be looking at a significant role in getting the Congress ready for the 2024 election fight.

The meetings have now created a strong buzz in the political circles that Prashant Kishor is lobbying to get Sharad Pawar elected as the next President of India.

Prashant Kishor met Sharad Pawar thrice since the West Bengal Assembly election results. One of these meetings at Sharad Pawar's New Delhi residence was attended by a host of Opposition leaders.

The meetings have led to speculation that Prashant Kishor is trying to build Opposition unity to take on the BJP in the next cycle of assembly elections and 2024 Lok Sabha polls, according to India Today report. However, Prashant Kishor has refuted such speculation saying he does not believe that a "third front or a fourth front" can challenge the BJP in the 2024 parliamentary polls.

But his meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, according to sources, added a fresh dimension to Opposition's political fight against the BJP and the Narendra Modi government. It could be centred around the presidential election next year.

Sources say that in Prashant Kishor's calculation, the electoral college for the presidential election would become favourable for an Opposition candidate if Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Naveen Patnaik joins hands with the non-NDA parties.

The numbers in Opposition-ruled Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu will also add in that candidate's favour. However, Naveen Patnaik remains the only grey area as he is non-committal.