Acclaimed poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday explained that the Congress-led INDIA alliance has not been able to project Rahul Gandhi as a leader who can improve the current situation. He further said there is no widespread anger against the incumbent Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi or a "clamour" for a challenger.
"We have not heard anything like things will be better if Rahul Gandhi comes. His supporters may say that, but I am talking about a more widespread level. There is an absence of widespread anger against the incumbent or a clamour for somebody who is a challenger," Kishore said in an interview to NDTV.
He also criticised the Opposition alliance for failing to announce a Prime Ministerial face for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, an issue that the BJP is now using against the INDIA bloc. Kishor suggested this was a poor strategic move as it indicated to the voters that the INDIA alliance lacks a reliable face and a strong narrative against the ruling party.
However, Kishor added that there is disappointment and the pain of unfulfilled aspirations amongst a section of voters. Going ahead, the poll strategist mentioned that the INDIA bloc ducked several opportunities to weaken PM Modi and the BJP's standing in the past decade.
To substantiate his point further, Kishor mentioned that the opposition failed to take advantage of the state election results of 2015 and 2016, when the BJP was at the losing end. He also mentioned that Opposition lost another chance to take on the saffron party in 2017 when it scored a big win in Uttar Pradesh in more than a decade but almost lost Prime Minister Modi's home state Gujarat, which it ruled since 1995.
He also said that the Opposition failed to capitalise on a dip in PM Modi's approval ratings post the coronavirus pandemic and the BJP's dismal performance in the West Bengal election in 2020. Furthermore, Kishor mentioned that the Opposition "virtually lay down arms" after the Ram Mandir pran pratishtha ceremony, which was held in Ayodhya in January this year.
"By the time, INDIA bloc came into action, it was too late... the BJP had already recovered the space it lost," Kishor said. He added the BJP will add significantly to its seats and vote share both in southern and eastern parts of the country. Notably, Prashant Kishor has prepared campaigns for the three INDIA bloc parties-- Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and DMK.