The “leak” to the media from Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s office late on Saturday night that political strategist Prashant Kishor has been camping in Pragati Bhavan, the chief minister’s camp office since Saturday morning, has generated a lot of heat in the state political circles.
PK, as Prashant Kishor is briefly referred to, has already held several rounds of talks with the Congress high command and he is going to have a crucial meeting with the party leadership on Monday to decide whether he will formally join the party and work for its victory in the 2024 general elections.
A day ahead of the meeting, his meeting with Telangana chief minister since Saturday morning, triggered widespread speculations in the media.
He has in fact been camping at Pragati Bhavan since Saturday morning and is expected to stay till Monday morning.
He had earlier met KCR at the latter’s farmhouse at Erravelli in Siddipet district and toured some villages to get the people’s feedback.
KCR had also admitted openly that PK would assist his party in the run-up to the Telangana assembly elections in 2023 and the 2024 general election.
Sources in the CMO said KCR would continue with the agreement with PK irrespective of whether the latter would join the Congress or not.
One wonders how it was going to be possible as PK, as a Congress party member, cannot work for cross purposes.
At a time when the Congress is going all out to defeat the TRS in the next elections, a Congress leader working out political strategies for the TRS would defeat the very purpose of the party.
It will trigger unrest in the Telangana Congress, as it amounts to admitting the defeat before the elections and accepting KCR’s leadership.
The Congress leaders are not believing that PK would continue to work for the TRS.
“He has come here to end the tie-up with the TRS as he is joining the Congress. But the TRS leaders are deliberately leaking to the media on PK’s meeting with KCR only to create confusion,” a Congress leader said.
It that is true, PK would have done it over phone or through a letter. There is no need for him to come all the way to Hyderabad, stay in KCR’s palace for two days only to tell the chief minister that he is breaking the contract with the TRS.
There is also a talk that Kishor, in a presentation to the Congress leadership on April 16, had suggested an alliance between Congress and KCR’s party in Telangana.
But KCR doesn’t want any alliance for now, as he is of the view that the TRS can return to power for the third time, only if the anti-incumbency vote is split between the Congress and the BJP.
“If the TRS and Congress join hands, it will help the BJP,” a source said.
