Prashant Kishor meets Parth Pawar and family over lunch

Mumbai: Prominent political strategist Prashant Kishor held a meeting with NCP MP Parth Pawar and his family on Sunday, fuelling speculation about whether he will take on the party. The NCP recently parted ways with Design Box, which had crafted its campaign for the 2024 assembly polls.

In a statement on X, Parth confirmed the meeting and said, “Prashantji is like a friend and a brother. He is known to us from Dada’s time. Yesterday he was in town so we had the pleasure to have him home for lunch and some insightful conversation.”

“Regarding some speculation about him working with the NCP, let me set the record straight. To the best of my knowledge, it has been a few years since he quit the political advisory space. I don’t see that changing but I can assure all those who are interested that we are and will always be available for each other wherever needed.”

Kishor shot to fame by partnering various political parties to victory, including the BJP, the JDU and the TMC. He joined the JDU and later formed his own political party, the Jan Suraaj Party, in Bihar but it did not see much political success.

Responding to the reports about the NCP’s meeting with Kishor, NCP (SP)’s Rohit Pawar said, “He has advised several major leaders, including the 2014 campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We believe in following our party leader rather than consultants.”