Don't believe a 'Third or Fourth Front' can challenge BJP: Prashant Kishor

Kishor criticised the Congress’s approach and said the party "must realise that it has a problem and do something about it"

In a dramatic reveal, political strategist Prashant Kishor has ruled out the possibility of an association of opposition parties ahead of the next general election, putting to rest speculations after his meetings with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in recent days.

"I don't believe a Third or Fourth Front could emerge as a successful challenge to the current dispensation," Prashant Kishor told NDTV.

He also said the Third Front model is "tried and tested" and he believes it to be archaic and not applicable in the current political dynamic.

After Kishor met Pawar for the second time in two weeks on Monday, speculations were rife of bringing together a 'Third Front' in the 2024 general elections. Clarifying that it’s not the case, Kishor told that these meetings are for the men to get to know each other better.

Talking about his hours-long meeting with Pawar, Kishor said the two engage in hardcore political discussions. They explore the possibilities of schemes by going state by state, that will work in fighting against BJP, he added.

In his conversation with NDTV, Kishor went on to say that Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee’s victory tells all the opposition parties that "they too can stand up to the BJP and give them a contest". Meanwhile, he criticised the Congress’s approach and said the party "must realise that it has a problem and then do something about it".

After his meeting with Kishor on Monday, Pawar and Yashwant Sinha of the Trinamool Congress called for a meeting of opposition leaders at the former’s residence in the presence of journalists, ex-diplomats, academics, and intellectual figures.