Lowdown On Prashant Kishor's Talks With Gandhis On 2024 Plan: 10 Points

Prashant Kishor reportedly reached out to Rahul Gandhi. But sources close to the strategist counter the Congress's version that his offer is focused on the Gujarat election later this year. The Congress leadership and Prashant Kishor or "PK" are mainly discussing a blueprint for the 2024 national election, they say. 

Elections in Gujarat or any other state will fall in line with PK's assignment and responsibility once the two sides arrive at an agreement for 2024, the sources say. Congress sources, however, insist that Mr Kishor's latest pitch is a one-time offer to work only on the Gujarat elections with "no strings attached".

A key hold-up in this back-and-forth, reportedly, is PK's desire for a Big Bang approach as opposed to the Gandhis' wish to bring in incremental changes, without antagonising party leaders too much by giving the ace strategist solo charge of revamping the Congress. The Gandhis are on tricky ground after recent election defeats, with a section of the party rooting for a leadership change.

PK joining the Congress - instead of taking on an advisory role - is still a remote possibility, sources say. However, it cannot be ruled out, given his May 2 deadline of announcing his future role, but it all hinges on everyone concerned agreeing on Mission 2024.

Talks between Mr Kishor and the Gandhis collapsed last year, weeks after Mamata Banerjee's Bengal victory - in which the strategist played a big role. The Congress later signed up with a former associate of Mr Kishor to handle its election campaigns. 

Despite Mr Kishor's sharp, public digs at the Congress, especially Rahul Gandhi, in the months after the breakdown, both sides have showed willingness for another shot at an understanding after the party's latest election defeats. The communication "never stopped", sources say.

There is a very real possibility, however, that Round 2 may also turn out to be a dud as neither side has changed their stance. Unlike last year, when the Gandhis and PK reportedly agreed to revisit the plan after the February-March state elections, this time, both sides have to make up their mind in the next four weeks (before PK's May announcement).

The strategist is reportedly not willing to commit without a solid plan, despite the Trinamool's Goa fiasco (Prashant Kishor was at the forefront of the party's strategy in its Goa election debut) and a strained relationship with Mamata Banerjee. Even in Goa, he argues, the Trinamool chief had made a public appeal to the Congress for an alliance to prevent a split in the anti-BJP votes. 

The Congress leadership reportedly sought the opinion of party leaders from Gujarat, at a recent meeting, on roping in PK. Though a majority endorsed signing him up, he is simply not ready to limit his role to one state, sources say. 

With both sides holding firm onto their views on the nature of their collaboration, the negotiations are at a delicate point where they can go either way, say sources.