Priyanka Gandhi Meets Prashant Kishor: Potential Alliance Brewing After Bihar Election Defeat

New Delhi:

Sources informed NDTV on Monday morning that Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishor met in Delhi last week at Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence.

Following the Bihar election, where both parties experienced significant defeats against the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally Janata Dal United, this meeting has sparked speculation about a potential renewal of cooperation between the Congress party, which has struggled to challenge BJP electorally, and the poll strategist known for engineering electoral victories.

Both sides have remained reserved about the meeting. When questioned, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra remarked, "Nobody is interested in who I meet... or who I don't," while Kishor explicitly denied any meeting with the Congress leader.

Nevertheless, sources familiar with the Gandhi-Kishor meeting indicated to NDTV that there are 'possibilities,' pointing to both parties' disappointing performance in Bihar. Jan Suraaj contested 238 Assembly seats without winning any, while Congress secured only six of 61 seats, 13 fewer than their previous showing.

Kishor and Congress have collaborated previously, though with varied outcomes. In 2017, PK guided then-Congress leader Amarinder Singh to victory over the BJP-Akali Dal coalition in Punjab. However, that same year, the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance faced defeat in Uttar Pradesh.

While the Punjab victory was celebrated, the Uttar Pradesh loss created friction. Some members of Congress' state unit accused Kishor of overstepping in his campaign management efforts. Kishor later described his experience working with Congress as "bad" and criticized the party's organizational culture and decision-making processes – criticisms others have since echoed.

Sources indicated that Rahul Gandhi remained unconvinced about Kishor joining Congress.

Four years later, with the next Uttar Pradesh election approaching, Kishor was close to joining the party, holding discussions with Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Rahul Gandhi. However, these talks ultimately failed.

Sources told NDTV that while Priyanka Gandhi favored giving Kishor the autonomy he sought to reshape Congress' electoral strategies, senior leaders and notably Rahul Gandhi opposed this arrangement.

Kishor's occasional critical comments about Congress' internal issues further complicated matters. In October 2021, for instance, he predicted BJP would remain central to Indian politics for years, stating, "Once you secure 30 per cent votes... you're not going away in a hurry."

In April 2022, Kishor definitively declined Congress' offer, as the party appeared unwilling to implement the extensive changes he had proposed. "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 stated then.

Following this breakdown with Congress, Kishor launched Jan Suraaj.

The new party aimed to initiate a fresh political approach in Bihar, distinguished by its candidate selection and issue prioritization. In November, Kishor told NDTV his party had successfully shifted Bihar's political discourse from caste considerations to employment issues in the chronically underdeveloped state.

Regardless of whether this shift materialized, the electoral outcome proved deeply disappointing not only for Kishor but for the entire opposition. The main anti-BJP alliance – the Mahagathbandhan led by Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal – was expected to build on its strong 2020 performance but instead underperformed significantly.

According to sources, these widespread defeats have prompted Kishor and Congress to reconsider their relationship ahead of crucial elections in Tamil Nadu, Bengal, and Assam in 2026 and Uttar Pradesh in 2027. The ultimate prize remains the 2029 Lok Sabha election, when BJP will seek a historic fourth term.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.