'No harm in taking a break, allow someone else do it': Prashant Kishor's advice to Rahul Gandhi
Political strategist Prashant Kishor said Rahul Gandhi is running Congress and has been unable to either step aside or let somebody else steer the party despite his inability to deliver in the last 10 years.
FollowPoll strategist Prashant Kishor has advised former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to “step aside” and “take a break” if the grand old party has an underwhelming showing in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He said, "Gandhi, for all practical purposes, is running his party and has been unable to either step aside or let somebody else steer the Congress despite his inability to deliver in the last 10 years."
"When you are doing the same work for the last 10 years without any success, then there is no harm in taking a break... You should allow someone else to do it for five years," Kishor told news agency PTI.
The poll strategist called the Gandhi scion's leadership style "undemocratic," and he departed from the opposition party after developing a resurrection plan that he could not agree upon with its leadership. He made the point that, no matter where they are in the globe, competent leaders must have the quality of actively recognizing and addressing their inadequacies.
"However, Rahul Gandhi feels as though he is an expert on everything. Nobody can help you if you refuse to accept that you need help. He feels he requires someone who can execute what he believes is correct. That's not feasible," Kishor remarked.
Referring to Gandhi's resignation as Congress president after the party's defeat in the 2019 polls, he noted that the Lok Sabha MP had then stated he would step back and let someone else take charge. But, Kishor said, he has behaved differently in real life than he has stated.
He went on to say that many leaders privately acknowledge that they are unable to make any choices inside the party without "xyz's" consent, alluding to the need to submit to Rahul Gandhi. Gandhi should not demand that he alone must deliver for the party despite repeated setbacks, according to Kishor.
He drew attention to the fact that the Congress, in spite of its majority, fell from 206 seats to 44 in the 2014 elections, at a time when the BJP's hold on key institutions was waning.
Kishor, who played a key role in the triumphant electoral campaigns of many prominent parties, asserted that the Congress faces "structural" shortcomings in its functioning that need to be rectified for its prosperity.
