Is YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy being taken for a ride by the so-called popular political strategist from north Prashant Kishor?
This is the doubt being expressed by some political analysts after seeing his strategies in Uttar Pradesh which are said to have misfired.
Prashant has been hired by the Congress party for the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh elections, but the ideas given by him backfired on the party.
For example, it was Prashat who came up with the idea of “Khat pe charcha” (discussion over cots) for Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in his UP tour, on the lines of Chai pe charcha adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during 2014 elections.
While chai pe charcha was the brainchild of Modi, Prashant claimed credit for the same. However, the same strategy backfired in Uttar Pradesh, as the Khat pe charcha was a flop show and Rahul had to face only ridicule from the people.
Similarly, without consulting the top leadership, Prashant started negotiating with Samajwadi Party for an alliance with the Congress and it brought down the party’s image. Now, the Congress leaders are ignoring Prashant and are going with their own campaign strategies.
Analysts say Jagan might also face a similar fate, if he depends on the ideas of Prashant. Moreover, the latter has absolutely no knowledge of Andhra political dynamics and if Jagan goes blindly by the strategies given by Prashant, he may not face the success. But Prashant is said to be taking Jagan for a ride by giving crazy ideas.
It remains to be seen whether Jagan will go ahead with Prashant or follow his own strategies!
