“PK koi? Dekheychho (Where is PK? Have you seen him)?”

A councillor of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation was overheard asking a senior Trinamul minister when the latter came out of the VVIP zone after Mamata Banerjee’s speech got over.

“No, as far as I know, he hasn’t come,” the minister replied.

From the conversation, it was clear that even top Trinamul leaders were curious about “PK” — Prashant Kishor, a poll expert the party has hired to ensure a reversal in its poll fortune.

The July 21 rally has always been a Mamata Banerjee event, but the 26th edition of the Martyrs’ Day programme — the most important event in Trinamul’s annual roster — saw a departure as supporters and even senior leaders were in the lookout for PK.

“He must be tracking what’s happening here from a distance,” said another Trinamul leader who admitted that he was also interested in knowing whether the poll consultant had turned up at the rally.

None could spot Kishor who maintains a low profile and avoids media glare.

Besides, a Trinamul leader pointed out, Kishor is a national vice-president of NDA ally JDU and could not have been seen on such a dais.

A minister said Kishor and his team did take notes, observing the event and gauging the mood.

“They are now in the process of diagnosing the problem before taking any call on the medicines and the mode of treatment. Maybe, they will play a more visible role in the future programmes,” he said.

BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh mocked the event later, bringing up Kishor.

“The speech PK had written out for her, she should have gone by that. She forgot all about it and went off the rails. The result was this address that was neither here, nor there,” said Ghosh.