Mumbai, Aug 7 (PTI): Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, who recently secured a landmark victory in the Bankipur assembly bypoll in Patna, discussed ways to strengthen the organisation of Maharashtra’s ruling NCP with party president and Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, a party functionary said.
Kishor, who heads the Jan Suraaj Party, held a meeting with Pawar at her official residence ‘Devgiri’ in south Mumbai on Thursday.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Suraj Chavan said Kishor, who is advising the party on organisational rebuilding, met Sunetra Pawar, her MP son Parth Pawar and senior leaders.
“It was an internal meeting to discuss how to strengthen the party and ensure development programmes of the government reach the grassroots,” he said.
Chavan rejected speculation that Kishor expressed displeasure over the style of functioning of NCP state president Sunil Tatkare and sought his removal.
When asked about it, state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Minister Narhari Zirwal, who belongs to the NCP, said, “There is nothing like that…”
This is the second time that Kishor, who had scripted poll victories for leaders from Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee to Arvind Kejriwal, has met Sunetra Pawar since the death of her husband and the then deputy CM Ajit Pawar in a plane crash in Baramati in January this year.
Following their first meeting a few months ago, Parth Pawar had said that Kishor was known to his family.
Kishor stunned the BJP in its Bankipur bastion in the recently concluded assembly bypoll in Bihar. The bypoll was necessitated after the sitting MLA, Nitin Nabin, who is also the BJP president, vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha. The BJP had fielded youth leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha, whom Kishor defeated in his electoral debut.
