Prashant Kishor in viral video: With or without Modi, BJP will be centre of Indian polity for decades

Panaji, Oct 28: The BJP will be the centre of Indian polity for decades whether the party wins the elections or not, said poll strategist Prashant Kishor in a viral video.

In the clip, Prashant Kishor, at a private meeting held on Wednesday with Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) members, is heard saying, "BJP is going to be the centre of Indian polity...whether they win, whether they lose, like it was for the first 40 years for Congress, BJP is going nowhere."

Explaining why the saffron party cannot be written off, Prashant Kishor said, "Once you secure 30 per cent plus votes at the India-level, you are not going away in a hurry. So, do not ever get into this trap that people are getting angry and they will throw away (PM Narendra) Modi," he added.

He further claimed that even without Prime Minister Narendra Modi the BJP will survive. "Maybe, they will throw away Modi, but BJP is not going anywhere. They are going to be here, you have to fight it out for the next many decades. It's not going in a hurry," Kishor said.

Referring to Rahul Gandhi, Prashant Kishor, who is popularly known as PK, said, "That is where the problem lies with Rahul Gandhi. Probably, he thinks it's just a matter of time that people will throw him (Modi) away. That's not happening."

Prashant Kishor came to the limelight after helping the BJP win the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Also, he had helped craft the election strategies for the TMC and the DMK in the assembly polls in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, respectively.

Reacting to the video, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) said that Prashant Kishor is not a member of the party and it was his own comments.

However, Congress said that the comments indicate that there was some back-channel understanding among the poll strategist, the TMC and the BJP.

Congress has been accusing the TMC of foraying into the Goa election to divide the secular votes to help the BJP win the forthcoming election. "His comments point towards some kind of conspiracy or understanding among him, the TMC and the BJP. The TMC should explain if it is helping the BJP by opposing the Congress," said Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury who is also the West Bengal Congress president. With inputs from PTI