MUMBAI: The meeting between newly elected Jan Suraj MLA and party founder Prashant Kishor with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has drawn criticism from both the BJP and the Congress.
Leaders from both parties questioned Kishor's apparent dual role, alleging that he is working against the political interests of his own party while simultaneously advising the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a BJP ally in Maharashtra.
According to sources, Kishor recently held a closed-door meeting lasting nearly five hours with Sunetra Pawar at her official residence, Devgiri, in south Mumbai. He is learnt to have agreed to serve as the NCP's political strategist and adviser after the party reportedly ended its association with Bengaluru-based political consulting firm Design Box.
Sources said the NCP has tasked Kishor with revamping the party's organisational strategy, strengthening Sunetra Pawar's leadership image, and designing a campaign to project her as the party's chief ministerial face for the 2029 Maharashtra Assembly elections.
"Sunetra Pawar and her son, Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar, first met Prashant Kishor over dinner in Delhi before holding another meeting in Mumbai. Last Thursday, Kishor met the two at Devgiri, where discussions continued for nearly five hours. He has agreed to help the NCP rebuild its organisation, project Sunetra Pawar's leadership, and expand its support base among women as well as secular and progressive voters," a source said, requesting anonymity.
Reacting to the development, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Atul Londe Patil questioned Kishor's political consistency.
"It is surprising that Jan Suraj chief Prashant Kishor claims his party's ideology is opposed to the BJP and even led his party to victory against the BJP in the Bihar bypolls. Yet, in Maharashtra, he is working as a political strategist and adviser for the BJP's ally, the NCP," Patil said.
"He had earlier claimed that he had quit political consultancy. If he is now advising the NCP, it raises serious questions. This is an ajab-gajab kahani—a topsy-turvy story. Where exactly does Prashant Kishor stand? It is beyond anyone's comprehension," he added.
Some BJP leaders have also privately expressed discomfort over Kishor's engagement with the NCP.
"He defeated the BJP candidate in the Bihar bypolls, while in Maharashtra he is helping a BJP ally. This is clearly a conflict of interest. Prashant Kishor must clarify whether his political ideology is against the BJP or aligned with it," a senior BJP leader said on condition of anonymity.
