A meeting between Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and former political strategist Prashant Kishor, which lasted for over three hours, has raised eyebrows across political circles in Maharashtra. Mr. Kishor in the 2019 State Assembly polls had worked with the Shiv Sena, which is now in alliance with the NCP in a tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
When asked about the meeting, Mr. Kishor replied saying it was “a private lunch”. He did not elaborate further.
The meeting took place a day after Mr. Pawar addressed party workers on the party’s 22nd foundation day. The NCP chief had said that he did not care about the discussions on the stability of this government. “Nobody had thought that we can work together with Shiv Sena. But we gave the option and it was accepted by the people. Leaders of all three parties are moving in the right direction keeping the commitment to the government,” he said.
Mr. Kishor, who helped the Trinamool Congress in the party’s astounding win in the West Bengal elections last month, has already declared that he will not be working as a political strategist any more. Speculations are rife that he may enter politics. His meeting with Mr. Pawar in the context of the ongoing developments in national politics is said to be with an eye on the 2024 elections.
The NCP circles were tight-lipped about the meeting between two. The meeting was reportedly attended by NCP MP Supriya Sule and party MLA Rohit Pawar. But when asked, Ms. Sule denied of being an attendee at the meeting. Mr. Pawar did not respond to a phone call.
A senior NCP Minister from the State government said that Mr. Pawar had held the meeting to know how Mr. Kishor had worked in West Bengal and his experience there. “There was discussion on national politics. Everyone knows that Mr. Kishor is no longer in the good books of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and is most likely to be in the Opposition camp. The discussions circled around that,” the Minister said.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar downplayed the meeting saying Mr. Kishor had retired from his earlier role of a political strategist. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that Mr. Kishor “meets a number of political leaders”.
