A day after Poll strategist Prashant Kishor rejected Congress’ offer to join the party, it was revealed that the Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi was not even present in the country.
According to the reports, Rahul Gandhi is on a foreign trip even as the senior leadership of the party, including the party’s interim chief Sonia Gandhi, was holding a high-level discussion with Prashant Kishor regarding the future of the Congress party. Rahul Gandhi, one of the top decision-makers of the Congress, who is expected to lead the party, reportedly went “aloof” as Prashant Kishor put out a detailed presentation before the Congress party leadership on the renewal of the grand old party.
Instead of actively participating in the discussion of the revival of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi chose to go on his trip abroad, leaving many in the party and its supporters shocked and bewildered. Reportedly, not only he has gone abroad, Rahul Gandhi also was unreachable.
The absence of Rahul Gandhi at such a crucial moment has disappointed not only loyal party workers but also the loyal journalists, Congress supporters in the media and intelligentsia. The ‘left-liberal’ ecosystem, which often backs the Congress party and the Gandhis, is now fuming against the lack of intent of Rahul Gandhi to rebuild the Congress party that can take on the Hindu nationalist party BJP.
The left-liberals, who saw Prashant Kishor as a ‘guardian angle’ who could give rebirth to the Congress party, now want Rahul Gandhi to quit politics dur to his frequent foreign tours. Vir Sanghvi, one of the loyal supporters of the Congress party in the media, is unhappy over Rahul Gandhi’s absence and the subsequent collapse of the Congress-Prashant Kishor deal.
#LeftRightCentre | @VirSanghvi Breaks Down The Congress-Prashant Kishor Break Up pic.twitter.com/FaB8YknC0C
— NDTV (@ndtv) April 26, 2022
Speaking to the NDTV, Vir Sanghvi said that Rahul Gandhi should take a break from politics and do others things or travel abroad. As anchor Nidhi Razdan pointed out to Vir Sanghvi that Rahul Gandhi was missing in action at such a crucial time, Sanghvi lamented over Rahul Gandhi’s absence and said that everybody within the Congress agreed that the party under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership would perform even worse in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections compared to the previous general elections.
“You cannot do the same thing again and again and think voters will react differently. Rahul Gandhi keeps saying that power is bad and he is not in politics for power, but why does he hang on? Why is he not willing to let go?” asked Vir Sanghvi, who looked dejected over the fallout of the Prashant Kishor-Congress deal, which according to many ‘left-liberal’ and independent journalists like Sanghvi, would have renewed the Congress party’s political prospects.
The Radia-tapes famed Vir Sanghvi also noted that if Rahul Gandhi likes Congress and wants to travel abroad, he should take a sabbatical for two years and get a PhD.
“Leave the Congress to its devices so that it can prosper,” Vir Sanghvi advised the Gandhi-scion.
Old guards wanted Prashant Kishor to join Congress, Rahul Gandhi supporters were not inclined: Vir Sanghvi
In the show, Vir Sanghvi also revealed that it was not the old guards of the Congress that opposed the induction of Prashant Kishor into the party as believed, but it was the people around Rahul Gandhi. Sanghvi said that the old guards are so desperate that they want someone to take charge of the party.
According to Vir Sanghvi, Rahul Gandhi was not inclined with the idea of Prashant Kishor having a greater role in the Congress party as the poll strategist wanted the lesser role for Rahul Gandhi and replace him with his mother Sonia Gandhi as the face of the party.
Prashant Kishor rejects Congress’s offer to join the party
Earlier on Tuesday, amidst intense speculations of Prashant Kishor joining the Congress party, the poll strategist said he has rejected Congress’ offer to join the party.
I declined the generous offer of #congress to join the party as part of the EAG & take responsibility for the elections.
— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) April 26, 2022
In my humble opinion, more than me the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep rooted structural problems through transformational reforms.
In his tweet, Prashant Kishor had said that in his ‘humble opinion’, more than himself, the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms.
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala took to Twitter to announce that the party had a discussion with Kishor after he gave a presentation on how to revive the party. Subsequently, Sonia Gandhi, the party president, had constituted an “Empowered Action Group 2024” for the 2024 general elections and also invited him to join the party with a defined role and responsibility. However, Kishor has declined the offer, he said.
Surjewala said that the party appreciates the efforts and suggestions he gave to Congress.
Earlier it was reported that the celebrity poll strategist had given a 600 slide presentation to the party leadership to help them revive the party and save it from oblivion. In the presentation, he suggested that Congress try and push propaganda in the digital space and get Facebook and Twitter influencers onboard along with like-minded media houses, which can be used for the party’s leverage. He had also suggested the party gets standup comedians on board to utilise their channels for propaganda.
