UP polls: Prashant Kishor gets a free hand, sets targets for Congress members

Read | Prashant Kishor only planning, party will take campaign forward, says Nirmal Khatri

While Kishor has set up base in Lucknow, his team some 100 strong has fanned out across the state, seeking to identify and build a Congress grassroots team of 1.5 lakh dedicated workers, 30,000 to 35,000 in each constituency, with the bait of an interaction with Rahul.

Party workers appear enthusiastic about the exercise but a few senior party leaders have made it clear they are uncomfortable, particularly with the way Kishor has reportedly been invoking Rahul. “The way he is promising a meeting with Rahul, his assertion that those who don’t meet his objectives will be denied tickets… That might be his style of functioning to boost the cadre’s morale but it makes state leaders feel out of place,” said a leader, who has attended a meeting with Kishor in Lucknow.

Leaders and workers have noted that AICC leader Madhusduan Mistry and PCC chief Nirmal Khatri, while being part of most meetings Kishor has addressed, have frequently been absent from stage when it has been Kishor’s turn to speak.

WATCH: Keystrokes | Rahul Gandhi Gets Help From Prashant Kishor

‘Style of functioning’

Prashant began setting out his targets on March 10. The party’s 140 district and city presidents were to identify at least 20 dedicated workers in each constituency, with contact details. Unit heads were also to fill up a form identifying the party’s organisational strengths and drawbacks in each region, explaining why other parties including the BJP are doing better, and suggesting improvements. This task has been completed by most units but there have been significant exceptions in Rae Bareli, Amethi and Sultanpur — Rahul’s family bastion has apparently been left out of the exercise.

The day he arrived, Kishor also met with heads of the party’s minority and SC wings and asked them to hold joint conventions across divisions. This is yet to happen.

Unlike in Punjab, Kishor has been given a free hand in UP. A number of party leaders and workers grumbled that Kishor meets selected leaders on the sidelines of meetings and constantly reminds people of his access to Rahul. Kishor began district-wise meetings last week. He reportedly told district unit members that those keen to contest would have to give the names of at least 250 workers from their respective constituencies and that he would ensure that those who failed wouldn’t be eligible for tickets.

“We were asked to give the names of 20 Congress workers with photographs and contact details from each constituency, which we did. We are doing things as asked. Time will tell the results,” said Hawaldar Singh, district president of Azamgarh, who attended Kishor’s meeting Wednesday.

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There have been occasions when some leaders have failed to restrain themselves. During a meeting of block-level leaders in Lucknow, AICC secretary Prakash Joshi pulled up a worker to task for equating Kishor with Hanuman with sanjeevani booty. Joshi told workers it was an insult to an old party like the Congress. The state leadership subsequently clarified it had no objection to his style of functioning.
On April 21, Kishor met with office-bearers of Youth Congress and the SC/ST cell; the next day, with those of Mahila Congress, Seva Dal and other wings. Party members said Kishor asked each department to give the names of two or three dedicated workers for each constituency. In return for a good performance, party members said, Kishor promised them a chance to meet Rahul.

The targets

Kishor’s team was allotted a room on the roof of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Office in Lucknow. When in Lucknow, team members reportedly stay aloof from the party and don’t speak to leaders. Initially, it was planned that Kishor would tour UP but eventually it was decided that party workers and leaders would instead be called to Lucknow in a sequence planned by Kishor.

The touring team has covered Varanasi, Allahabad and Gorakhpur, asking Congress members the same questions as Kishor has been in Lucknow. The workers they are identifying will be the backbone of the campaign. Starting July, they will carry forward the strategy Kishor and his team work out. These workers will be given smart phones with special apps for region-specific campaigns.

A later part of the mission is to visit families long associated with the Congress but now upset with the party for various reasons. Party sources said Kishor has sought a month and a half for this. The target in every gram panchayat is at least one household with a strong belief in Congress ideology.