Kolkata: Smarting after losing ground to the BJP in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, Mamata Banerjee has recruited the services of poll strategist Prashant Kishor. Sources said here Thursday that Kishor will work out the strategy for the TMC for the 2021 Assembly elections in West Bengal.
Banerjee and Kishor had a two-hour meeting here Thursday after which the firebrand Chief Minister decided to utilise the services of the latter. It just indicates how much the TMC supremo and her party leaders are worried about the rise of the BJP in West Bengal. The saffron party increased its tally from two to 18 in the Lok Sabha elections while the TMC nosedived to 22 from 34 . Out of the 294 Assembly segments in the state, BJP managed to take lead in 122. The sudden increase in support base of the BJP has had the TMC in jitters since the results were announced.
Kishor’s latest success has been the results of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. He strategised the poll policies of YSR Congress and helped YS Jaganmohan Reddy usurp N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telegu Desam Party (TDP). The YSR Congress won all the 25 Lok Sabha seats and 150 of the 175 Assembly seats enabling Jagan to come to power for the first time in Andhra.
It should also be stated here that Kishor had worked for the BJP in the 2014 polls which saw the party under Narendra Modi come to power for the first time. Lately however, Kishor had been maintaining a low profile after he failed to guide Congress to victory in the 2017 UP elections.
But then in this game you win some and lose some. And with the success in Andhra, whiz-man Kishor is certainly in demand.
Agencies