Why poll strategist PK refused to bite the Congress' bait?

The Congress on Tuesday announced that political strategist Prashant Kishor has turned down its invitation to join the grand old party. A series of consultations between PK, as he is known, and the Congress top brass and the eventual fallout had played out in the immediate past too.

A deal between the Congress and Kishor seemed certain this time as Sonia Gandhi was leading the talks. It was widely speculated that PK would even join the party, if his 600-slide presentation of proposals to revive the electoral fortunes of the Congress looked impressive to its top brass.

Party general secretary Randeep Surjewala announced Sonia Gandhi had invited him to join the party as part of the empowered action group "with defined responsibility", but PK declined to take up the offer.

In reply, PK said something that is everyone's logic. More than him, he said, "the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms."

From PK's reply, it looks like Sonia Gandhi's invite to him was only a nice gesture of formality, knowing well that he would not grab it. Congress insiders say PK wanted more than what it could afford. A similar situation was reported after the previous fallout between the two sides also.

"He was pitching something too ambitious," a source, told Onmanorama, on condition of anonymity. But what was it? "He wanted some high-level post and mandates which usually even general secretaries are not given," the source said.

PK, going by the source, wanted to be directly in charge of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and a part of ticket distribution. He also wanted to play a crucial role in the formation of alliances. He also pitched for a post in which he would report directly to the Congress president. All that sounded like a disruption of the Congress' age-old hierarchy and power equations.

PK's decision to sign a pact with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi for the 2023 state polls even as the talks between him and the Congress were progressing also seems to have contributed to the fallout.

Right from the beginning of the latest round of talks, it was reported that there was a feeling within the party that PK should prove the workability of his plan with some of the state polls due later this year and next year. With the way the events have unfolded, it is evident that the star strategist was not ready to stand for such a trial and error method.

It would be too much to assume that PK would do some magic for the

Congress in Gujarat and Himachal, the two states going to polls this year. But for now, Congress's fate in the two states looks seems a foregone conclusion with no drastic changes in leadership, style of functioning and political narrative – all that PK, or anyone expecting a reversal of its electoral fortunes, wants to see in the party.