Prashant Kishor is the overhyped individual who recently gained fame with time and tide falling in his favor. He is not an election strategist but a strategist in the matter of increasing his own fame in a short time. He always stands on the side of the party he believes would win based on his surveys. Of course, such surveys go wrong many a time.
There are many allegations against him, claiming that his strategies often involve social media tactics encouraging caste conflicts, fabricated news, fake GOs, and false propaganda.
Just a day ago a news has come in national media stating- Notably, Prashant powered Jagan’s campaign in the 2019 elections, devising the chief minister's campaign strategy and crafting catchy slogans like "Annostunnadu (Anna is on the way)" and "Nenu Vinnanu-Nenu Unnanu (I have heard and I am here to assist)," which created a sensation."
But the matter of fact is that this was a dialogue from the film "Yatra" but nothing to do with Prashanth Kishor. This is a small example of how PK is known for grabbing the credit of others to raise the mileage of his business, like Chandrababu keeps telling that he brought in cell phones to India.
Coming back to the story, it should be underlined that Modi would have won even without Prashant Kishor in earlier elections. Mamata Banerjee also would have been victorious without him. Jagan Mohan Reddy would have triumphed without PK's involvement in 2019. It was a wave and social media frenzy in general that brought a positive aura around these politicians for different reasons. The role played by PK is minimal at best. But the success of these parties became an advantage for him.
Knowing this, every party started distancing themselves from Prashant Kishor. Stating that he would be away from strategies as the reality is known to all the politicians, he started his own party in Bihar but, in fact, was unable to gain traction. It is like an individual who gained popularity as an experienced film critic unable to make a film of his own.
In the present context, TDP hired him to turn heads in news columns. But the reason for keeping him beside may also have other factors. As of now, TDP is pinning hopes on Pawan Kalyan to patch up the relationship with BJP, though there is no light at the end of the tunnel. On the other hand, TDP is also keen on maintaining rapport with Prashant Kishor as he is part of the I.N.D.I.A team, who can be helpful if there is any political need before or after the 2024 general elections. So, TDP is trying to build bridges on both sides, to use one when the other one falls.
Returning to the aspect of strategists, they don't really work wonders as many presume. As stated above, they conduct surveys, and based on their conclusions, they stand beside a particular party. But several times, they too go wrong with their calculations. That's the reason some parties lost their elections despite PK being with them.
All in all, like TDP brought in Siddhartha Luthra, a highly paid advocate from Delhi to bail out CBN immediately from the Skill Sam Case, things didn't work as expected. So everything comes at a price but may not yield the desired result. The same may go for Prashant Kishor as well for TDP.
The biggest irony is TDP hiring Prashant Kishor when he became a useless spent force. However, PK would have accepted for two reasons. First, he would get a good package, and the other is if TDP wins, he can claim the credit, and if it loses, he can simply say that he didn't work as a full-time strategist but just gave some advice which they didn't follow.
Well, what PK does sounds reasonable! Why should he lose money when TDP is giving him without knowing the reality of his potential?!
Madhunandan Akkishetty
