How Prashant Kishor and Congress split and why they are making up now

Prashant Kishor and Congress’s partnerships have often mirrored complex anxious-avoidant dynamics. But after bitter splits, why are the two making up now? And how far will this go?

Whenever the Congress and poll strategist Prashant Kishor return to news cycles, they often remind one of complex anxious-avoidant relationship dynamics: the anxious person complains that his partner is not responsive enough. On the other hand, the avoidant one accuses her of being demanding and feels engulfed. A cycle of splits and reunions continues.

Without getting right away into which label sticks to whom in the Congress-Prashant Kishor-context, let’s rewind to 2016 to see where they come from.

In the run-up to the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, reports emerged that the Congress and Prashant Kishor (hired ceremoniously after his role in Nitish Kumar’s 2015 success in Bihar) were heading for a break-up as some party leaders were not happy with his "style of functioning".

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Differences also grew over the wisdom of deploying party leader Priyanka Gandhi in the campaign. Be that as it may, Prashant Kishor’s election slogan “UP Ke Ladke” seemed to catch on in UP.

It was to pit Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav -- “symbols of youth power” -- against “outsiders” PM Narendra Modi and then BJP president Amit Shah, the Union home minister since 2019.

The slogan, as well as most other things, did not work, and Yogi Adityanath replaced Akhilesh Yadav as UP chief minister with a brute majority. The Congress and Prashant Kishor (aka PK) had a split.