INDIA’S most sought-after election strategist said the Congress - the country’s oldest political party - is “capable of reviving itself” without his help.
Prashant Kishor’s comment came in a television interview days after he turned down a “generous offer” to join the party and “take responsibility” for the next parliamentary elections which are two years away.
The Congress, struggling to find relevance since its 2014 electoral debacle, “needs leadership and collective will to fix deep-rooted structural problems by carrying out transformational reforms”, he had said in a tweet this week.
Kishor, 45, came to prominence after the Bharatiya Janata Party, with which he was associated, swept the national elections eight years ago, catapulting Narendra Modi to the country’s top executive position.
According to author Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, Kishor was one of the most important people in Modi's team driving strategies for months before the elections when the media campaigns were characterised by innovative slogans. One of them - Ab ki baar Modi Sarkar (this time Modi government) - became so popular that British prime minister David Cameron who was seeking re-election in 2015, adopted it with a tweak, Aur ek baar Cameron sarkar (Cameron government once again) to woo the India diaspora.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi (ANI Photo)
After Modi’s first success at the national level, Kishor joined hands with several political parties, most of which triumphed in provincial elections. His most recent notable success came last year in West Bengal where the Trinamool Congress retained power.
Seasoned journalist and political observer K Subrahmanya said unlike most other poll strategists, Kishor offers a comprehensive package to his clients which includes strategy, specific actions, periodic assessments and social media handling, “including propaganda, campaign and disinformation”.
According to him, it so happened over the years that some of the political parties he helped were “sure-shot winners even without him”.
He was associated with the Congress in the Punjab state election in 2017 but it was a foregone conclusion that the party would win anyway.
Kishor teamed up with the regional coalition of Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress in the eastern state of Bihar in 2015, “but there was hardly any doubt that the alliance would win”, Subrahmanya told Eastern Eye.
Kishor was also associated with the YSR Congress party in Andhra Pradesh in 2019 and the DMK in Tamil Nadu in 2021 which were also predicted to win their state elections.
“I would not say he consciously chose to take up assignments with winning parties. But certainly, they were winning parties even without him, in most cases”, the journalist said. But he recalled that the Congress-Samajwadi Party combine came a cropper in the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh in 2017 despite being helped by the strategist.
Prime minister Narendra Modi (Photo by Eduardo Munoz - Pool/Getty Images)
After it drew a blank in the elections to five state assemblies earlier this year, Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked Kishor to join the party and be a part of its Empowered Action Group to take care of its election strategy for upcoming polls.
According to analysts, he parted ways with the party because of a potential “conflict of interest” as the company I-PAC he founded has tied up with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi for assembly polls in Telangana.
On the revival strategy of the Congress, he said he told its leaders what he wanted to tell them. He also appreciated that the party discussed its future “in such a structured way” for the first time since 2014.
“But I had some doubts about the Empowered Action Group that they wanted me to be part of, which would be in charge of implementing changes,” he told Aaj Tak Hindi news channel.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)