Panel submits suggestions to Sonia on Kishor's strategy

new delhi: Amid a series of deliberations over a strategy for upcoming general and assembly elections by poll strategist Prashant Kishor, a group of senior leaders of the Congress has given its recommendations to party president Sonia Gandhi and left it to her to take a call on them

and initiate organisational changes.

Sources said the panel of eight leaders formed by the Congress president have discussed at length Kishor's strategy plan and deliberated with senior leaders while giving their suggestions to Gandhi.

Some leaders of the party would meet again on Monday for holding further deliberations on the party's revival and strategy plan, even as Gandhi held discussions with the Congress president on Friday, sources said. On Kishor's entry into the Congress fold, though some senior leaders had reservations keeping in view his involvement with a number of political parties including the BJP, JDU, TMC and Congress in the past, a majority of them have favoured it but left it to the Congress president to take a final call.

Some senior leaders like Digivijaya Singh have said that Kishor has come out with a concrete strategy plan and the committee has discussed it further and said it would help the party.

Singh along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ambika Soni, K C Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik, Jairam Ramesh, P Chidambaram and Randeep Surjewala are among those in the panel formed by Sonia Gandhi, who sat for several hours and held many rounds of deliberations during this week. Sources said Kishor had earlier met some leaders of the G-23 in the Congress, when he had

also met some opposition leaders including Sharad Pawar, suggesting that in order to

oust Narendra Modi, the opposition should contest polls unitedly.

Kishor, in his strategy plan for 2024 Lok Sabha elections and other state elections in several states, has suggested several measures including

the poll strategy plan in the party.

An 85-page power point presentation by Kishor was also doing the rounds on social media in which he recommended a non-Gandhi leadership for the Congress party that would have high impact in elections.

Kishor also noted that without a strong Congress there cannot be a functional UPA.