NEW DELHI: Will poll strategist Prashant Kishor be engaged by the Congress ahead of the Gujarat elections?
There seems to be utter confusion in the state unit and several leaders have told the top brass that the party is already strong in the rural belt and that he can't make much of a difference in the urban areas, traditionally the BJP's stronghold.
A communication has been sent to the party high command that any further delay in arriving at a decision will impact the party's strategy. Meanwhile, sources said that Kishor is looking for a bigger engagement -- the 2024 Lok Sabha elections -- with the Congress rather than the Gujarat elections scheduled for November 2022.
A senior Gujarat Congress member said that there is a "50-50 divide" in the party on Kishor working for the party. The Congress gave a tough fight to the BJP in 2017 limiting the ruling party to double-digits in the 182-member state assembly. However, several Congress MLAs have changed sides in the last five years.
"He (Kishor) can't make much of a difference (for Congress) in Gujarat. The Congress has a stronghold in the rural belt and even leaders know that in urban areas it's difficult to beat the BJP. So, what is the use of spending so much money to get Kishor on board? It should rather be given to candidates for the campaign and other activities," said a Gujarat Congress leader, who has been recently appointed as party general secretary in the state.
Several party leaders insisted that a decision on Kishor should be taken at the earliest.
"A group who supports Kishor's induction has created a buzz that if he will come then we will win, thus raising expectations of party workers. A delay in making the decision means it would demoralise the ground workers whose hopes have been raised by such notions," said a former Congress MLA in Gujarat.
Source in IPAC denied reports that a team is in Ahmedabad and starting the groundwork for Congress.
"There are rumors that the Gujarat elections may be advanced from the November 2022 schedule and violence in north Gujarat during Ramnavami procession is seen as a move to polarize the community ahead of elections," a leader said.
On if the AAP will inflict damage, another Congress leader said they have not been able to make inroads in the rural areas and had been limited to cities, which was reflected during the urban local body polls where they trumped the Congress in Surat.