Political strategist Prashant Kishor called on friend-turned-foe-turned-friend Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar over dinner on Friday evening amid speculation of his rift with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
The two met for the first time since Kumar showed Kishor the exit door as JD (U)'s number two in 2020. The two chatted for close to two hours at Kumar's official residence in Delhi, according to ndtv.com.
Kumar confirmed meet to reporters albeit adding nothing much should be read into the meeting.
Kishor told ndtv.com that it was a "courtesy visit" stemming from a casual chat. Kumar had called him when he was infected with Omicron and he had enquired about his health. It was then Kumar wanted to meet him.
Trinamul Congress however had negated rumours that there was a distance bwteeen Kishor and the party. In fact, the party had taken to Twitter to refute such speculations. Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien while distinguishing between TMC and Kishor's I-PAC, said that the party had hired the political consultancy agency for five years and they have certain deliverables to do.
“There is absolutely NO MERIT in the hugely speculative and unsubstantiated reporting regarding the difference of opinion or working relationship between the TMC (Trinamul Congress) and I-PAC. Under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, we work as one team and will continue to collaborate in the future,” tweeted TMC, which was retweeted by I-PAC’s offical Twitter handle.
Without naming Kishor, O’Brien suggested that I-PAC has certain tasks to do for TMC but the agency or any of its officials do not necessarily reflect the party’s opinion.
“TMC is the first political party who have hired I-PAC for five years and they have certain deliverables to do. I-PAC has reach-out on the ground, communication and social media. All this is evaluated by the national working committee chaired by (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee,” O’Brien had said.
He further had mentioned about TMC focusing on those states where the opposition to BJP is weak or that space is vacant. “Therefore, the TMC will not enter Tamil Nadu where the DMK is a pre-eminent force or Maharashtra where the Shiv Sena and NCP are there,” he had pointed out.
