Telanganas KCR Signs Up Prashant Kishor Ahead Of State Polls: Sources

Election strategist Prashant Kishor reportedly met K Chandrasekhar Rao at his farm house outside Hyderabad over the weekend, setting off speculation amid the Telangana Chief Minister's efforts to cobble a front against the BJP ahead of the 2024 general elections. Telangana is heading for assembly polls in December next year, in which Mr Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samithi is hoping for a third straight term in power. Sources said Prashant Kishor's political consultancy team IPAC is working for KCR and a formal contract has also been signed, though its details are not known yet. Mr Kishor is credited with successfully handling the campaign of MK Stalin-led DMK in Tamil Nadu and YS Jaganmohan Reddy in Karnataka. The IPAC chief, whose ties with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has been subject of intense speculation, also met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently for lunch. Though Mr Kishor dismissed it as a casual meeting, reports of his strained ties with Ms Banerjee and Mr Kumar's past efforts to keep ally BJP in check in the state, have added extra dimensions to the issue. The IPAC -- which has been handling Ms Banerjee's efforts to expand and acquire a pan-India appeal -- has been caught in the crossfire between her and her increasingly ambitious nephew Abhishek Banerjee. Sources close to I-PAC, however, dismissed reports of rift with the Chief Minister.

Election strategist Prashant Kishor reportedly met K Chandrasekhar Rao at his farm house outside Hyderabad over the weekend, setting off speculation amid the Telangana Chief Minister's efforts to cobble a front against the BJP ahead of the 2024 general elections. Telangana is heading for assembly polls in December next year, in which Mr Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samithi is hoping for a third straight term in power. Sources said Prashant Kishor's political consultancy team IPAC is working for KCR and a formal contract has also been signed, though its details are not known yet. Mr Kishor is credited with successfully handling the campaign of MK Stalin-led DMK in Tamil Nadu and YS Jaganmohan Reddy in Karnataka. The IPAC chief, whose ties with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has been subject of intense speculation, also met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently for lunch. Though Mr Kishor dismissed it as a casual meeting, reports of his strained ties with Ms Banerjee and Mr Kumar's past efforts to keep ally BJP in check in the state, have added extra dimensions to the issue. The IPAC -- which has been handling Ms Banerjee's efforts to expand and acquire a pan-India appeal -- has been caught in the crossfire between her and her increasingly ambitious nephew Abhishek Banerjee. Sources close to I-PAC, however, dismissed reports of rift with the Chief Minister.

Election strategist Prashant Kishor reportedly met K Chandrasekhar Rao at his farm house outside Hyderabad over the weekend, setting off speculation amid the Telangana Chief Minister's efforts to cobble a front against the BJP ahead of the 2024 general elections. Telangana is heading for assembly polls in December next year, in which Mr Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samithi is hoping for a third straight term in power. Sources said Prashant Kishor's political consultancy team IPAC is working for KCR and a formal contract has also been signed, though its details are not known yet. Mr Kishor is credited with successfully handling the campaign of MK Stalin-led DMK in Tamil Nadu and YS Jaganmohan Reddy in Karnataka. The IPAC chief, whose ties with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has been subject of intense speculation, also met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently for lunch. Though Mr Kishor dismissed it as a casual meeting, reports of his strained ties with Ms Banerjee and Mr Kumar's past efforts to keep ally BJP in check in the state, have added extra dimensions to the issue. The IPAC -- which has been handling Ms Banerjee's efforts to expand and acquire a pan-India appeal -- has been caught in the crossfire between her and her increasingly ambitious nephew Abhishek Banerjee. Sources close to I-PAC, however, dismissed reports of rift with the Chief Minister.

Election strategist Prashant Kishor reportedly met K Chandrasekhar Rao at his farm house outside Hyderabad over the weekend, setting off speculation amid the Telangana Chief Minister's efforts to cobble a front against the BJP ahead of the 2024 general elections. Telangana is heading for assembly polls in December next year, in which Mr Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samithi is hoping for a third straight term in power. Sources said Prashant Kishor's political consultancy team IPAC is working for KCR and a formal contract has also been signed, though its details are not known yet. Mr Kishor is credited with successfully handling the campaign of MK Stalin-led DMK in Tamil Nadu and YS Jaganmohan Reddy in Karnataka. The IPAC chief, whose ties with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has been subject of intense speculation, also met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently for lunch. Though Mr Kishor dismissed it as a casual meeting, reports of his strained ties with Ms Banerjee and Mr Kumar's past efforts to keep ally BJP in check in the state, have added extra dimensions to the issue. The IPAC -- which has been handling Ms Banerjee's efforts to expand and acquire a pan-India appeal -- has been caught in the crossfire between her and her increasingly ambitious nephew Abhishek Banerjee. Sources close to I-PAC, however, dismissed reports of rift with the Chief Minister.Election strategist Prashant Kishor reportedly met K Chandrasekhar Rao at his farm house outside Hyderabad over the weekend, setting off speculation amid the Telangana Chief Minister's efforts to cobble a front against the BJP ahead of the 2024 general elections. Telangana is heading for assembly polls in December next year, in which Mr Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samithi is hoping for a third straight term in power. Sources said Prashant Kishor's political consultancy team IPAC is working for KCR and a formal contract has also been signed, though its details are not known yet. Mr Kishor is credited with successfully handling the campaign of MK Stalin-led DMK in Tamil Nadu and YS Jaganmohan Reddy in Karnataka. The IPAC chief, whose ties with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has been subject of intense speculation, also met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently for lunch. Though Mr Kishor dismissed it as a casual meeting, reports of his strained ties with Ms Banerjee and Mr Kumar's past efforts to keep ally BJP in check in the state, have added extra dimensions to the issue. The IPAC -- which has been handling Ms Banerjee's efforts to expand and acquire a pan-India appeal -- has been caught in the crossfire between her and her increasingly ambitious nephew Abhishek Banerjee. Sources close to I-PAC, however, dismissed reports of rift with the Chief Minister.