Prashant Kishor built Mamata Banerjee’s campaign for the April-May state elections (File)
New Delhi:
Mamata Banerjee’s unprecedented coup in Meghalaya – the joining of 12 of the 17 MLAs of Parliament led by Mukul Sangma last night – began with a meeting between election strategist Prashant Kishor and the leader high level of Parliament. During a press conference earlier today, Mr. Sangma shared that he met Mr. Kishor in Kolkata because he is a “good friend … who can make a difference”.
It all started after the central leadership chose Vincent Pala as head of the party’s state unit, Mr. Sangma said.
“There needs to be a balance in democracy,” Mr. Sangma said. We need an effective opposition. “We raised this issue with the leadership in Delhi. We made many trips to Delhi, but nothing happened… While searching for options for a counterspace, I met my good friend Prashant Kishor-ji, who we all know, who can make a difference. I’m happy to reveal, when we interact, we have the same goal – people’s interest supersedes everything,” said Mr. Sangma.
Mr. Kishor – who built Mamata Banerjee’s campaign for the April-May state election to a spectacular victory – is now pushing her to make her way onto the national stage.
The election strategist, who, after Mamata Banerjee’s big win has said he will “give up on this space” – is known to be on good terms with the Trinamool leader and considers himself a political aide Grandma. “It was an absolute pleasure working with her. She was extremely receptive to suggestions and a pleasure to work with,” he said after the election.
Many believe Ms Banerjee will now become the face of the opposition – a position made possible by the results of Bengal, where she held the BJP’s powerful electoral machine and won. sporadic.
So far, Ms. Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress is seen as targeting Tripura ahead of the next round of parliamentary elections in 2023. But last night’s events made it clear that Meghalaya and the rest of the northeast also on her shopping list.
Sources say Mr Kishor’s electoral strategy team is in the Meghalaya capital Shillong to prepare for the Trinamool Congress for the 2023 parliamentary elections.
Meghalaya is the latest state in which Trinamool, which has been in expansion mode for the past few months, has popped up. In Assam, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana, its incursion came at the expense of the Congress.
Her list of acquisitions in the past weeks includes Luizinho Faleiro in Goa, former assistant Rahul Gandhi Ashok Tanwar in Haryana and former Janata Dal United leader Pawan Verma in Bihar.
In Delhi yesterday, Mamata Banerjee made an open invitation to any leader wanting to join Trinamool in its battle against the BJP. She also bristled when asked about a possible meeting with Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi, questioning whether it was “mandatory”.
Mr. Kishor has never hidden his reservations about Congress. In his final round of criticism in October – weeks after negotiations over his entry into Congress cooled – he said the BJP’s will would go nowhere and would remain “in the middle”. heart of the Indian polity” whether they win or lose.
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