Behind PK’s activism: Is he trying to make Sharad Pawar President of India?

What is behind poll wizard Prashant Kishore’s sudden activism? The Lok Sabha elections are three years away and he has no stakes whatsoever in UP elections. He does have some stakes in Punjab elections, but BJP does not have any hope of forming a government there. So, even if PK is active in Punjab, it does not alter the ground position there.

But, one sees PK showing hectic and frenetic activity. He has been meeting non-BJP politicians regularly. He has met NCP’s Sharad Pawar, held talks with Mamta Banerjee, called on Stalin, spoke to TRS and is in touch with YS Sharmila in Telagnana. But more importantly, he met Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday. Only AICC’s key office bearer Venugopal was present at the meeting.

Sources say PK’s immediate aim is not UP, not even Punjab. His interest is in the presidential elections. President Ramnath Kovind’s term will end in 2022 and there would be presidential election next year. PK is reportedly trying to make Sharad Pawar the presidential candidate. His aim is to make him the president o the country. As of now it is not clear whether the BjP will give Kovind another term or not. It is also not clear what its strategy is. But, PK feels that Sharad Pawar can be a very good candidate and he would be able to get votes from across the spectrum.

So he is trying to bring all the forces opposed to Narendra Modi on one platform. He is also said to be contacting fence-sitters like Naveen Patnaik, KCR and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. As of now, the BJP enjoys a clear majority both the houses of Parliament and also in over 18 states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, which are big states. So, the party is said to be confident of winning the presidential polls, but PK feels that there is a chance to rattle the BJP this time. Hence he is working hard to bring all the parties together.