The fourth and perhaps the final round of the series meeting between poll strategist Prashant Kishor and batches of Congress leaders, including party chief Sonia Gandhi, is scheduled for Friday to give direction to the party as well as Kishor’s much-awaited induction in the party.
According to some leaked reports claiming to be that of Kishor’s 600 slides presentation to the Congress leaders spanning over five days, the poll strategist has advised a non-Gandhi to head the grand old party. Kishor has titled his five steps Congress revival plan as “Natraj”, the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe.
As per the Kishor’s Natraj model, Sonia can continue as UPA president and Rahul Gandhi can lead the party and leaders in Parliament, but Congress president should be a non-Gandhi. He has also proposed a campaign like “India Deserves Better” by the usage of powerful social media tools.
He has suggested that the Congress should avoid mainstream media and that the party should create a powerful digital army that can take on the BJP. He recommended that the Congress should aim to bring 30 crore voters together to win the election. He has also suggested a topic like Gandhi vs Godse.
Kishor has suggested that the Congress has to take six fundamental resolutions to rebuild itself. Kishor has stated in his recommendation that the Congress is no longer a democratic organisation and 65 per cent of the district presidents and 90 per cent of the block presidents have not had any meeting with the Congress president or general secretary.
He also recommended internal reforms like one family one ticket, fixed tenure of Congress president and Congress Working Committee and prevention of manipulation in internal elections.
He has said out of 66 CWC members, only two members are below 45 years of age.
His presentation said in the last 25 years, the Congress did not have any national-level membership drive.
On the idea of alliances, Kishor has reportedly suggested that instead of forming UPA-III or going it alone, the Congress will have to look for Congress plus and recommended that the party joined hands with leaders and regional organisations who have carved a niche for themselves in the State.
Kishor is credited to have planned the electoral strategies of various parties, including the Trinamool Congress, AAP, DMK, and others.
His plan also includes the work of connecting one crore workers of the Congress party, out of which 50 lakh will be grassroots workers and the rest will be in the form of electoral forces.
Describing Kishor as a brand with proven credentials, Congress general secretary Tariq Anwar said the poll strategist is willing to join the party without any preconditions and his induction would certainly help the party. Congress president Sonia, Anwar said, wanted to take senior leaders into confidence and seek their opinion before taking a decision on Kishor’s role in the Congress.
Amid the ongoing intra-party deliberations to evolve a long-term strategy and discuss the plan presented by Kishor, former Rajasthan deputy Chief Minister
Sachin Pilot met Sonia on Thursday. Pilot’s meeting with Sonia comes a day after she met Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh -- Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel.