The Challenges Of Prashant Kishor's Partnership With Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Prashant Kishor, the election campaign manager brought in by the Congress to reverse its declining fortunes, knew his real work would begin when the party hit rock bottom. It looks like that moment has come.

The party run by the Gandhis, suffered humiliation last week when it lost Assam to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP. The race was not even close, underlining the crisis facing the mother-and-son team of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

Two years ago they were utterly eclipsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a landslide national ballot won on promises of economic growth and a strong, modern India.

While PM Modi's agenda has been slowed by stalled reforms, other state election setbacks and devastating drought, he remains comfortably the most popular politician.

The challenge for Rahul Gandhi, the public face of Congress' comeback, is to make up lost ground in time for the biggest test before a 2019 general election - next year's vote in Uttar Pradesh.

That, and the state of Punjab, will go a long way to defining who is the next Prime Minister; in 2014, the BJP won 71 of 80 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh and only Sonia Gandhi and Rahul held theirs for Congress.
 In an intriguing twist in the race for Uttar Pradesh, Mr Gandhi has invited Mr Kishor to help coordinate Congress' strategy, the same man who aided PM Modi's march to New Delhi with a campaign that embraced modern electioneering techniques and wowed voters.

Mr Kishor now plans to bring those, and an intimate knowledge of the way PM Modi and the BJP operate, to a party that is widely seen as old-fashioned and overly reliant on the Gandhis.

The 38-year-old, who largely avoids the public eye but engages the press and senior party figures with increasing confidence, has a backroom team of researchers analysing census data to more effectively translate votes into seats.

That may mean targeting a particular caste or religion, for example.

Sources close to Mr Kishor, who worked in health activism before being taken on as policy adviser to PM Modi when he was Chief minister of Gujarat, said the strategist has "24/7" access to Mr Gandhi.

Mr Kishor is determined to move away from a system of patronage, inject a sense of urgency and bring in fresh faces from the grassroots level upwards, even if it means upsetting the Congress establishment.

And, reflecting a growing interest in politics rather than focusing on number crunching, Mr Kishor wants to portray Congress as the only inclusive national party in India, the sources said.

The BJP has been accused of stifling free speech and promoting a Hindu-first agenda at the expense of minorities.

"We are a party of all, for all and by all," said Jyotiraditya Scindia, a Congress parliamentarian in his mid-40s, considered one of the party's "new guard".

"The only other national party, which is the BJP, is not representative of pan-India, because it is not of all, it is not by all and it is not for all."

Mr Kishor, for one, is realistic about Congress' chances of catching up with the BJP.

"We are way behind the curve," said a source familiar with his thinking. "The total collapse of the party isn't something we can ignore."

In a party steeped in tradition, secrecy and deference, enthusiasm for Mr Kishor is not universal.

"Indian politics is not susceptible to modern, professional analysis," said one former Congress cabinet member. "You get it right, you're lucky; you get it wrong, you're unlucky."

Media have also reported on the campaign manager's frustration at Mr Gandhi's reluctance to take quick decisions, and on speculation that Mr Kishor would resign.

Mr Kishor's organisation, Indian Political Action Committee, published two tweets to address the rumours.

"Question of quitting is nothing but wild speculation. We are deeply honoured by the responsibility and totally committed to the job," one said.

"Grateful for the opportunity and the trust shown by the Congress, its leadership and each & every worker for their faith in us," read the second.

Congress loyalists say Mr Gandhi returned a changed man from a sabbatical in a secret location in early 2015.

"He ... discovered his inner politician," said Shashi Tharoor, a prominent Congress lawmaker. "He's active in parliament. He's more confident. His repartee shows he can think on his feet."

Since Mr Kishor joined Mr Gandhi's team a few months ago, the leader has joined student protesters on the barricades, shown solidarity with drought-hit farmers hit the campaign trail up and down the country.

The latest state polls, which included Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal where regional parties expectedly dominated, suggest that Mr Gandhi's impact has been limited so far.
The BJP vote is expected to hold up relatively well in Uttar Pradesh as things stand, said Sanjay Kumar at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi.

"They can't in their wildest imagination form a government in Uttar Pradesh. The race for Congress is not to be a distant fourth."

As for Mr Gandhi, BJP leaders are dismissive.

"What do you relaunch?" asked MJ Akbar, a former Congress spokesman who joined PM Modi's BJP before the 2014 election. "He's already been launched. He's been in an active leadership position since before the 2014 election."