"In my humble opinion, more than me the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep rooted structural problems through transformational reforms," he added, encapsulating his reservations about the party that he had aired from time to time.
Digital Desk: Election strategist Prashant Kishor has emphatically rejected the Congress' invitation to join the party as a member of its "Empowered Action Group," thereby ending months of talks to revitalize the grand old party. According to sources, the 137-year-old party refused to give him a free hand, despite internal agreement that they need a new face and a revolutionary approach for the next general election.
"I declined the generous offer of #congress to join the party as part of the EAG & take responsibility for the elections," Mr Kishor tweeted shortly after the Congress announced his decision.
"In my humble opinion, more than me the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep rooted structural problems through transformational reforms," he added, encapsulating his reservations about the party that he had aired from time to time.3
"Following a presentation & discussions with Sh. Prashant Kishor, Congress President has constituted a Empowered Action Group 2024 & invited him to join the party as part of the group with defined responsibility. He declined. We appreciate his efforts & suggestion given to party," senior party leader Randeep Surjewala tweeted.
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Mr Kishor met with party head Sonia Gandhi several times in the previous month and made extensive presentations on his objectives. Following this, Mrs Gandhi and the senior leaders had a series of internal discussions.
A portion of leaders were strongly opposed to Mr Kishor's joining, not just on ideological grounds, but also because of his ties to political opponents such as Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Some members of Mrs Gandhi's special team, including Digvijaya Singh, Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Surjewala, and Jairam Ramesh, were among those who were sceptical of giving a novice such a free hand.
Today, Congress insiders said there was a trust gap on both sides, with Mr Kishor not seeming fully on board at Friday's meeting with Sonia Gandhi and the eight-member special committee she formed to examine the problem. This, they claimed, was interpreted as a sign of inconsistency, especially given that he had approached Congress with the rejuvenation proposal.
Mr. Kishor was given a position in the "Empowered Action Group," which was formed to solve "political challenges" ahead of the 2024 national elections.
A day later, he was in Telangana, where he met with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and inked an agreement with IPAC, the organisation he had managed for years.
According to sources, given the Congress's established way of doing things, Prashant Kishor's big bang adjustments did not sit well with many members of the party. He was also perceived as unpredictable, which contributed to the old-timers' unease.
Despite this, the party has acknowledged the need for fundamental reform in the aftermath of the party's exponential setbacks after 2014 - the issue was even included in the special committee's report. The party is likely to develop its approach at a three-day conference next month in Rajasthan's Udaipur.
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