For Kishor, The Party's Not Yet On

The poll strategist’s revival plans for Trinamool Congress rub party leaders, state officials the wrong way.

- Romita Datta

Poll strategist Prashant Kishor is having a hard time with his new clients, Trinamool Congress. Kishor was drafted to revive the party’s fortunes after its reverses in the Lok Sabha election at the hands of the BJP. TMC leaders are upset that an outsider is telling them what to do, where to go and whom to meet. Kishor has reportedly been issuing “diktats” to party legislators to spend nights at constituents’ homes to gauge the mood of the electorate.

“A novice in Bengal politics is telling us where to go, what to do and how to take care of our constituencies,” says a senior TMC leader from South 24 Parganas, on condition of anonymity. “[Kishor is] selecting a few people based on his surveys, and instructing us to visit them.”