What was apparently a simple meeting between a poll strategist and leaders of the main Opposition party, became the hot topic of discussion and speculation in no time. Prashant Kishor, who recently added West Bengal and Tamil Nadu to his collection of poll successes, met Congress leader Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday triggering a flood of theories.

The buzz started with the meeting being over Kishor’s peace moves in feud-ridden Punjab Congress and then moved on to the upcoming assembly elections and Lok Sabha polls 2024. The speculation then shifted to Sharad Pawar and his reported Presidential aspirations and then came the big one — Kishor joining the Congress. The poll strategist and the Gandhis, meanwhile, maintained a stoic silence.

Let’s take a look at the theories that did the rounds after the high-profile meeting:

Punjab peace broker

This was the first theory that floated soon after the meeting. Reports linked the Kishor-Gandhis’ meet to the Congress mess in Punjab. Kishor, who is said to be close to Singh, was speculated to have come to Gandhis with a peace formula for Punjab. The central leadership of the Congress had to step in to douse the flames in Punjab after the Singh-Sidhu spats got public and ugly. But, this theory did not last long

Upcoming state polls

Five states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, are going to polls early next year. So the next speculation was about the discussion being about these polls. Kishor had worked with Congress in UP in the last Assembly elections in 2017. The Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance was decimated and the BJP came to power. Kishor had then made some adverse comments about the way the Congress functioned

Opposition unity

The buzz then moved on to the talks being about larger Opposition unity ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Kishor’s two recent meetings with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar coupled with the non-Congress Opposition parties’ Rashtra Manch hosted by Trinamool leader Yashwant Sinha probably fuelled this buzz.  The speculation was that to seal Congress’ role in the opposition front was important to take on the BJP in 2024.

Sharad Pawar as President

The buzz then got bigger. It now centred around Kishor lobbying to get NCP’s Sharad Pawar elected as the next President of India. The poll strategist’s recent meetings with the NCP chief were linked to this speculation. Quoting sources, India Today reported that as per Prashant Kishor’s calculation, in case of a strong Opposition unity (for presidential polls), they can upset the BJP and become a game-changer ahead of 2024. Sources were also quoted saying that Kishor recently met Naveen Patnaik and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in this connection. Current President Ram Nath Kovind’s term ends in 2022.

Kishor joining Congress

As the day progressed, the buzz moved to Kishor-Gandhi meeting being about the poll analyst joining the Congress. Quoting sources, ndtv.com reported that the Gandhis and Prashant Kishor, during their talks, may have explored a formal role for the poll strategist. This, they said, could be a part of their preparation for Lok Sabha and state polls.