UP Assembly elections: Prashant Kishor's plans leave state Congress leaders miffed
Backed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, political strategist Prashant Kishor is authoring the party's blueprint for next year's assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
In Short
- Kishor had been deciding what leaders should promise to voters
- Leaders allege they aren't even given sufficient time to execute Kishor's plans.
- Leaders have found their election programs divorced from ground realities
Communication gaps between the party's political strategist, Prashant Kishor, and leaders and functionaries on the ground threaten to hurt the Congress campaign in Uttar Pradesh, insiders warned.
Backed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Kishor is authoring the party's blueprint for next year's assembly elections in the key state.
But senior leaders of the Congress' new UP team are worried about what they say are widening communication gaps between them and the chief planner.
GAP BETWEEN PARTY LEADERS AND KISHOR
Several members of the Uttar Pradesh Congress have found their election programs divorced from ground realities, party sources said.
Election rallies, for example, have been scheduled on religious holidays, such as on Eid in September, the sources revealed. "How can you expect people to attend political programs on such occasions? We would have advised a better date if we were consulted," said a state party leader, who requested not to be named.
Wary of raising their concerns with Gandhi because of his overwhelming support to Kishor, several UP Congress leaders privately complain they are not being kept in the loop about party programs.
COMPLAINS
Leaders allege they aren't even given sufficient time to execute Kishor's plans.
On August 18, the party's political strategist issued a directive for the UP Congress to take out two state-wide yatras starting August 21 from Lucknow, an AICC functionary linked to Uttar Pradesh disclosed.
"You need at least five days to pull such big programs off. But we had to accept his deadline out of compulsion," a party leader insisted.
Some UP leaders also alleged that Kishor had been deciding what they should promise to voters in their constituencies.
Some others claimed their Uttar Pradesh yatras had been haphazardly planned.
"The routes could have been optimally utilized, but they aren't," said a member of the UP Congress team. "Any experienced politician will hold as many programs in his day-long campaign itinerary. But this is not happening in our yatras. We skip many districts along our routes," he explained.
A group of state leaders discussed the campaign issues with Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is in charge of the party's affairs in Uttar Pradesh.
Azad, insiders said, downplayed the matter as teething troubles. "He (Azad) assured them that everything would smoothen in due course," said a UP Congress member.
Kishor may have convinced Priyanka Gandhi to campaign in UP