Seasoned number cruncher Prashant Kishor has been influencing major decisions within the Indian National Congress of late. It is believed that the man does not command much influence over Sonia Gandhi – the interim Congress president. Her son and daughter, however, seem to be enamoured by the man and his politics, since the duo does not have much to account for personally. Rahul Gandhi, without actually holding any position within the Congress party at the moment, is taking all important decisions – and this is infuriating leaders. The hand supporting Rahul Gandhi in his endeavours is that of Prashant Kishor, who is eyeing lateral entry into the party at the General Secretary level.
The Congress’ senior leaders, however, are hardly impressed with the prospect of Kishor getting to join the party at an important post, without first proving his worth. Janmashtami celebrations at Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s residence on August 30 saw intense deliberations regarding the Congress’current situation, and how Kishor’s entry would impact it. The G-23 leaders of the Congress are said to be strongly opposed to the idea of Kishor’s lateral entry, but the group is likely to adopt a “wait and watch” policy.
Prashant Kishor’s Punjab Mess
It seems Captain Amarinder Singh’s fortunes in Punjab were sabotaged by the Congress high command with the help of Prashant Kishor. Ever since the number cruncher was appointed as principal adviser in the rank and status of a cabinet minister to Captain, media reports had been rife with news of growing discontent amongst the Punjab Congress ranks regarding the decision. The fire soon became uncontrollable for Captain Amarinder Singh, who was forced to clarify to the state unit as a whole that Kishor will have no hand in ticket distribution.
However, the damage was done, and discontent within the Congress’ Punjab unit only grew here on, ultimately precipitating the appointment of Navjot Singh Sidhu as the state unit’s president, and most recently, resulting in the removal of Captain Amarinder Singh as chief minister.
Prashant Kishor, by the looks of it, ran a sabotage mission against Captain Amarinder Singh in Punjab. Rahul Gandhi seems to have gone rogue. He has begun running the show in Congress along with Prashant Kishor with scant regard for any other leader, including, it seems, his own family members. It must be remembered that the Punjab fiasco – beginning with the appointment of Sidhu as the state unit president, was being considered a pet project of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Did Rahul Gandhi sabotage his own sister’s mission along with Kishor?
Prashant Kishor’s Push for Anarchists like Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani
Prashant Kishor is said to have convinced Rahul Gandhi that the Congress requires new, young leaders and that senior leaders need to be done away with. What else explains the Congress’ decision to induct seditious elements like Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani into its ranks? Former Communist Party of India (CPI) leader and former president of JNU Students’ Union, Kanhaiya Kumar had been meeting Rahul Gandhi along with Prashant Kishor regularly in the run-up to his induction into the party on Tuesday.
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Kanhaiya is accused of raising anti-India slogans at the JNU campus in 2016. He was then the president of the JNU Students’ Union. Kanhaiya was among others to be arrested by the Delhi police and charged with sedition. For the Congress to induct such elements into its ranks really shows how Rahul Gandhi is taking the party of a far-left ride.
Prashant Kishor is resulting in the destruction of the Congress party. If Rahul Gandhi, being the giant ignoramus and political child that he is, thinks people like Kanhaiya and Jignesh can win elections for the Congress, he is in for a big surprise. Kanhaiya Kumar was defeated by BJP’s Giriraj Singh during the 2019 polls by a margin of 400,000 votes from Bihar’s Begusarai. This, even as Begusarai is considered a stronghold of the Left.
Prashant Kishor seems to be driving the Congress Party into the ground. And Rahul Gandhi is helping him do so. Ever since Kishor began influencing decision-making within Congress, the party has been disintegrating. How Prashant Kishor embarrassed the Congress in Uttar Pradesh’s 2017 assembly elections has hardly been forgotten by anyone, and history seems to be repeating itself all over again.