Prashant Kishor declines Congress offer

New Delhi, Apr 26: Amidst talks of his joining the Congress party as "advisor", political strategist Prashant Kishor has declined the offer to join the grand old party as part of Empowered Action Group. This comes amid strong buzz over the pollster joining the party that is desperate to return to power in 2024.

Party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in a tweet: "Following a presentation & discussions with Sh. Prashant Kishor, Congress President has constituted a Empowered Action Group 2024 & invited him to join the party as part of the group with defined responsibility. He declined. We appreciate his efforts & suggestion given to party."

Earlier, there were rumours that Kishor would join the Congress brigade and work as part of the party's empowered action group 2024.

On the other hand, Kishor held talks with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in Hyderabad over the current political situation during which the political strategist is understood to have submitted the details of the surveys done by his team in Telangana.

Congress sources said on Monday the eight-member group constituted by party president Sonia Gandhi to formulate its poll strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls after Kishor's presentation took serious note of the poll arrangement signed by I-PAC with the TRS for the assembly elections.

Some have noted there will be a conflict of interest in the Congress going ahead with having any poll arrangement with Kishor, they added.

While Kishor was keen to join the Congress and has expressed his willingness to do so without any expectations, but senior party leaders expressed doubts over the commitment of the poll strategist since he has agreements to support rivals in West Bengal, Bihar and Telangana.

Though the I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee) has signed an agreement for providing poll strategy to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Kishor has been insisting he is no longer associated with it.

This arrangement with the TRS has come as a roadblock for Kishor and his entry into the Congress, as the party is seeking to wrest power from the TRS in the southern state.