After poll strategist, Prashant Kishor declined the Congress party's offer, the former party chief of Punjab Navjot Singh Sidhu shared a 'friendship' post with him on Twitter.

       "Had a wonderful meeting with my old friend PK … Old wine, Old gold and Old friends still the best!!!" Sidhu said on Twitter, sharing his picture with Kishor.

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       Had a wonderful meeting with my old friend PK … Old wine , Old gold and Old friends still the best !!! pic.twitter.com/OqOvkJqJmF

       — Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) April 26, 2022

       After several rounds of meeting between Kishor and Congress, the former has declined to create the party's poll strategies. He said Congress needs leadership and collective will to fix deep-rooted structural problems by carrying out transformational reforms.

       "I declined the generous offer of Congress to join the party as part of the EAG and take responsibility for the elections. In my humble opinion, more than me the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms," Kishor said in a tweet.

       Kishor was asked by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to join the party and be a part of the Empowered Action Group-2024 and take care of its election strategy for upcoming polls.

       Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Kishor declined the offer, adding the party appreciates his efforts and suggestions.

       Kishor was keen to join the Congress and had desired to do so without any expectations. He had also made a presentation to the party on which its top leaders deliberated during the last week.

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       Though the party did not say anything officially, the PTI news agency, citing sources said that Kishor was told specifically that he cannot be associated with any other party any longer after he joins the Congress, but he still went ahead with the TRS deal.

       Several senior Congress leaders raised strong concerns over Kishor's agreement with the TRS for polls and during their meeting with Sonia Gandhi also pointed out his "conflict of interest" and "lack of commitment" towards the Congress.

       Kishor had made a detailed presentation before top Congress leaders, which was discussed at length by senior leadership of the party, after which an offer was made to him.

       He was present during several rounds of deliberations over his plan for 2024 elections, after which Sonia Gandhi decided to constitute an Empowered Action Group to evolve a comprehensive strategy for the party for upcoming elections.

       Kishor has been engaged by Mamata Banerjee's TMC in West Bengal as well as Nitish Kumar's JD-U in Bihar for election management.

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