| 1:15:04 PM - Fri, Jul 30th 2021 |
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Prashant Kishore is not an ordinary political consultant.
According to his telling, he rarely watches news on TV and he doesn't read newspapers. He doesn't write emails, or take notes, and he hasn't used a laptop in a decade. The only gadget he uses is his phone, he told me. Mr Kishor has posted 86 tweets in three years on Twitter, where he has half a million followers.
"I am not a believer in work-life balance and have literally no interests outside my work," he said.
Mr Kishor is India's best-known political consultant and strategist, though he dislikes the description. He is seen as a high-profile handler of politicians and an astute tactician who has perfected the art of winning elections and influencing people.
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Since 2011, Mr Kishor and his political consultancy firm have struck success with eight of nine elections in which they have run campaigns for different parties. He has had offers from Disney, Netflix and even Bollywood's Shah Rukh Khan for biopics - all of which he has refused.Mr Kishor has successfully advised politicians of all hues - from BJP's Narendra Modi in his sprint to power in 2014 to arch-rival Mamata Banerjee of regional Trinamul Congress party in her sensational third-term win in May against a resurgent BJP. His supporters call Mr Kishor a man with a Midas touch; his critics say he chooses his clients carefully, based on their chances of winning.
In May, Mr Kishor, 44, announced he'd had enough with the job he was doing. "I am quitting this space," he said. "I want to do something else."
But in recent weeks, he has been in the headlines again. Meetings with key opposition politicians, including Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, have sparked reports about the canny consultant trying to help cobble an alliance against Mr Modi's Bharatitya Janata Party (BJP); or even joining Mr Gandhi's party to shore up its flagging fortunes.
All this is speculation, Mr Kishor said.
"I am definitely not going to do what I was doing earlier. I have a few options but I haven't made a decision. It is quite possible that I end up doing something which has got nothing to do with politics. As soon as I take a decision I will formally share it," he said.
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