Congress is a challenge to the genius of Prashant Kishor
Prashant Kishor, the pollster, has reached Punjab, giving sleepless nights to the Akalis and the BJP coalition partners alike. After effecting sigular successes in Gujarat and 2014 General elections, where he transformed Narendra Modi as the face of development, Prashant Kishor effected another spectatcular success in the caste-ridden Bihar. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is now reluctant to part with the pollster even after his success and pegged him down with a Cabinet rank advisory position, perhaps to utilise his services for the 2019 General elections. With Nitish putting so much faith in him, the Congress wants Prashant's political strategy for the Punjab poll before, presumably, enlisting his services for Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 General Elections. Whether that would mean Opposition bickerings in the run-up to the 2019 poll, time will tell. Since 2007, the Congress has been losing badly in Punjab, and the Akalis are on the rise. Now what winning strategy would Prashant Kishor advise Capt Amarinder Singh in Punjab is eagerly awaited. The famous `Chai pe Charcha' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also attributed to Prashant Kishor. With such simple strategies, Prashant manages to hold sway over the electorate and makes the voters do his bidding. Former UN expert on Public Health, Prashant Kishor should indeed be a phenomenon, putting paid to all poll pundits. He should, therefore, be a genius in the Indian context, wherein the people rarely vote for a hung house. To make them go and do Prashant's bidding without proverbial money or booze or false promise is nothing short of the stroke of a genius. Nitish is retaining Prashant Kishor's services on the very ground by making him his Special Adviser with Cabinet Rank. Not even Lalu Prasad can shake Nitish from his seat. For the time being, it appears Nitish had loaned him to Capt. Amarinder Singh. In principle, Prashant had given his support to the former Prince. Owing to the ethical question of conflict of interest, Prashant had promised to offer his services to the Punjab PCC chief for free. Would then Capt. Amarinder Singh be satisfied with Punjab? Or, for that matter, would the Congress be satisfied with just Punjab? What happens to the single-point agenda of the Congress -- to put Rahul Gandhi in the gaddi? We may have to wait and see. However, if Prashant is already concerned about conflict of interest, what about the bigger ethical question of electoral manipulation which a strategist necessarily adopts? For example, did the people vote for development or jungle raj in Bihar? Where is the guarantee jungle raj won't prevail if the casteist forces thwart the development agenda? General election 2019 is, therefore, a challenge not only for Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Nitish Kumar, Rahul Gandhi, Mulayam Singh, various political parties and pollsters but also the genius called Prashant Kishore.
