Popular political strategist and founder of Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) Prashant Kishor has declared that he is not working for Telugu Desam Party, though party president N Chandrababu Naidu has sought his help.
In an interview to a television channel, Prashant Kishor admitted that he had come all the way from Hyderabad to Vijayawada to meet TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu, who had requested him to work for the TDP in the coming elections.
“A common friend of mine, a senior politician, told me that Naidu wants my help for the party in the coming elections. I told him that I had worked for the YSR Congress party in 2019 elections and after that, I have given up the consultancy work. So, I told him I cannot work for the TDP,” Kishor said.
But the senior politician insisted that I should meet Naidu and convey the same to the latter personally.
“I have obliged the request; and so, I came down to Vijayawada to meet Naidu and told him that I cannot work for the TDP,” he said.
This explanation, however, is not convincing, as sources in New Delhi that Naidu’s son and TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh had several rounds of talks with Prashant Kishor when Naidu was in jail in October.
If Prashant Kishor doesn’t want to work for the TDP, there is no point in coming all the way to Vundavalli residence of Naidu just to convey his intention. He can as well call up the TDP chief or Lokesh to tell the same.
Secondly, a video of Prashant Kishor coming to Hyderabad last week, apparently to meet Naidu also surfaced in the recent past. If he doesn’t have any connection with the TDP, there is no need for him to come to Hyderabad on the day when Naidu was there.
However, Prashant Kishor’s statement could be partially true. He is definitely not on the board of the TDP, but sources said he has been giving advice to Naidu and his Showtime Consulting team on the election strategies and also in the selection of candidates.
After all, when somebody is getting money off-the-record, how can he admit that he is working for a particular organisation or party?