Why did Congress talks fail with Prashant Kishor, why did Jitin Prasada exit? Priyanka clears air

Priyanka said that some exits were "perhaps more personal than political"

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ ITDC NEWS Ahead of Uttar Pradesh polls, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra cleared the air on the party's fall out with key Brahmin leader Jitin Prasada and failed talks of partnership with political strategist Prashant Kishor. Priyanka spoke out in a detailed interview with NDTV. Polling for the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly is scheduled to be held in seven phases from February 10 to March 7 and the counting of votes will be held on March 10.

In the case of Prasada and a lot of other leaders who defected to the BJP, Priyanka hinted that the exits were "perhaps more personal than political". "I felt that the kind of battle that we are fighting, it is a very rough battle. Some of them lost their elections. Some of them lost their homes in which they had lived for many, many years. Some of them were facing genuine, existential issues," she said.

Prasada, a long-time Congress man, won his first election to the Lok Sabha in 2004 and enjoyed a second term in 2009 from Shahjahanpur. He lost the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the 2017 UP assembly election and the 2019 election to the Lok Sabha. He has been minister of state for steel; petroleum and natural gas; road transport and highways, and human resource development. His exit from the Congress came after a long period of discontent. His induction is a nod to the fact that the BJP needs to win back the Brahmin vote which is somewhat disenchanted with it.

In the case of Prashant Kishor, Priyanka told NDTV that there were talks and there was a very real possibility, but it did not work out in the end. "I think it did not work out for multiple reasons. Some on his part, some on our part. Broadly there was an inability to agree on certain issues, which sort of impeded the discussion from moving forward," she said.

In 2021, there was non-stop buzz that election strategist Kishor would be joining the Congress on an official basis. According to multiple reports, Kishor had, in May 2021—after the results of the assembly elections were announced—sent feelers out on working for the party, not in the capacity of a political consultant but as a member of the party. Kishor had, after his successful stints in the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu elections, declared that he wanted to quit the election consultancy space and do something else in life.

Priyanka as Congress CM face in UP?

Priyanka had virtually pitched herself as the party's face in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections but did not confirm whether she would contest the polls or not. "Do you see any other face from the Congress party," she said when asked who would be the party's chief ministerial face in UP polls.

"You are seeing my face everywhere," the Congress leader added while addressing a press conference to release the party's 'youth manifesto' along with her brother and former president Rahul Gandhi.

Asked whether she would herself contest the assembly polls, Priyanka Gandhi said, "We have not yet decided." She said it would be known once that is decided.