Prashant Kishor Meets Sharad Pawar, Sachin Pilot in Denial Mode on his Joining BJP

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, June 11: Amidst speculations that he might switch over to the BJP following the footsteps of the Uttar Pradesh Brahmin leader Jitin Prasada, another young Congress leader and former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Friday denied that he was in touch with the BJP.

In yet speculative political development, the noted political strategist Prashant Kishor, who once again proved useful in stalling the BJP’s powerful entry into West Bengal, held a two-hour long meeting with the Nationalist Congress party chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai and immediately made the tongue wagging in the political circles about his future course of action, though after the West Bengal Assembly elections he had announced that he was “quitting the space.”

The NCP sources said apart from discussing the prevailing political situation, Pawar hosted lunch for Kishor.

The meeting got over by around 2 pm, but neither Kishor nor Pawar spoke to the media persons gathered outside. This was Kishor’s first meeting with Pawar after the victory of DMK and the Trinamool Congress in the recent Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively. He had helped craft the election strategy for these parties in the assembly elections.

After the assembly poll results, the election strategist had said that he was “quitting this space”.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar downplayed the meeting, saying that Kishor has already said he would not be a political strategist any more. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said many leaders were in touch with Kishor, while NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal said he was not aware of the agenda of Kishor’s meeting with Pawar. Stating that Kishor was a successful political strategist, Bhujbal said he was sure that Pawar would take into account Kishor’s suggestions.

Kishor had met Uddhav Thackeray in 2019 before the latter became chief minister.

Meanwhile, responding to the claims by some BJP leaders that the party had reached out to him, Sachin Pilot claimed that the BJP did not have the courage to speak with him.

“Maine bhi suna hai. Rita Bahuguna Joshi ne jo kaha ki Sachin se baat kari hai, ho sakta hai unhone Sachin Tendulkar se baat kari ho. Mere se baat karne ki himmat nahi hai (I have also heard this. Rita Bahuguna Joshi has said she has spoken with Sachin, it is possible that (she) has spoken with Sachin Tendulkar. (she) doesn’t have the courage to speak with me),” said Pilot as he rubbished claims of him jumping the ship.

Pilot made these comments at a protest in Jaipur in response to a question from media persons about BJP leader Joshi’s claim that he was not comfortable in the Congress and may join the BJP soon.

The Rajasthan Pradesh Congress committee has given a state-wide protest call against the central government over rising fuel prices.

At the protest site in Jaipur where Pilot was present, many of his loyalists and supporters, including some of the MLAs who took his side during the political crisis in Rajasthan last year, were present.

Pilot’s assertion on Friday that he was not in talks with the BJP comes in wake of former Congress heavyweight in Uttar Pradesh Jitin Prasada joining the saffron party recently. Joshi herself too had switched to the BJP a few years ago after being in the Congress for more than two decades.

Ever since the defection of senior Congress leaders such as Jyotiraditya Scindia and Prasada to the BJP, speculations have been rife about Pilot, who had a public spat with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot last year, when he took off with 18 of his loyalist MLAs and camped in Haryana and Delhi for over a month. A political crisis ensued and Pilot was removed as the state’s Deputy Chief Minister and Rajasthan Congress president.

Even though a truce was brokered by the Congress high command between the two and a committee was formed in August last year to address the issues and grievances raised by Pilot and his supporters, not much has come out of it even after almost a year has passed since its formation.

In recent times, MLAs who are loyalists to Pilot have repeatedly reiterated that they want the committee to take a speedy decision. Pilot has also indicated that he was not comfortable with the committee and the party high command delaying actions on his demands and had said there was no reason for further delay by the committee in taking the requisite action in matters such as political appointments and cabinet expansion.

Sachin Pilot, who along with Jitin Prasada, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Millind Deora once formed the core group of Rahul Gandhi’s close advisers, had lately being showing dissatisfaction with the functioning of the party high command. With two of the four close associates of Rahul having already switched over to the BJP, Pilot’s next move was closely being watched by both the Congress and the BJP leaderships.