Days after JD(U) president Nitish Kumar enrolled poll strategist Prashant Kishor in his party, his once close confidant Shashwat Gautam has been hired by Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The two sons of Bihar are all set to help Nitish and Rahul in the upcoming crucial 2019 Lok Sabha election as key strategists. Interestingly, Kishor had also worked for Congress while Gautam had worked for JD(U). Both are young, dynamic and foreign educated.
Gautam, who hails from Chaita village in West Champaran, has been appointed as national coordinator in the Data Analytics Department of the AICC and is likely to play a key role in the party’s mission 2019. This department of Congress gathers data from across the country and chart out electoral policies. He has been assigned the task of designing communicative narrative and booth level organisation. Gautam was quoted saying, “My sole objective would be to ensure Congress has strong booth presence in 250 Lok Sabha constituencies. The focus would be to strengthen the party at the booth level across the country.”
The role of Kishor in JD(U) is not publicly defined but it is strongly expected that he would work in close contact with Nitish and accomplish the mission assigned to him by the party chief. He already has started working and two days back when Nitish went to Delhi to have dialogue with BJP president Amit Shah on seat sharing, Kishor accompanied him and after Nitish returned he went ahead meeting Shah separately. Kishor worked as poll strategist of Nitish in 2015 Assembly election which saw Nitish returning to power in alliance with Lalu Prasad and the Congress by defeating the BJP-led NDA.
Gautam started working for Nitish in 2016-17 when he was heading the mahagathbandhan government and played his role in drawing up JD(U)’s strategy in Bihar and on the national level. But in the beginning of 2017 when some leaders of JD(U) started criticizing the RJD, Lalu and his sons, Gautam became uncomfortable and expressed his displeasure knowing little that they were speaking at the instigation of Nitish who was making strategy to go back to the NDA. In this situation, he preferred to leave Nitish’s company. Currently Gautam was working as director at the Centre for Economic Policy and Public Finance at the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI).
The induction of Kishor in the JD(U) has alarmed many in the party amid speculations that he would emerge as the person as main adviser and the conscience keeper of Nitish while the stature and position of some other close confidants of party chief might be slighted. A similar apprehension was being expressed in the Congress circles too. Gautam, who would also be special invitee to the advisory committee of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee in his capacity as an important office bearer of the AICC, might overshadow some main leaders including newly-appointed president Madan Mohan Jha and campaign committee chief Akhilesh Singh. The appointment of new Bihar PCC president has already ruffled many feathers. and some senior leaders were not pleased with Jha’s elevation.