Prashant Kishor

This arrangement with the TRS may come as a roadblock for Kishor's entry into the Congress as the party is seeking to wrest power from the TRS in Telangana.

There has been no official word from TRS on Kishor's discussions with Rao but party sources said Kishor, who met Rao on Saturday, continued the talks on Sunday as well.

Many senior Congress leaders still believe that onboarding a well-known election strategist is the answer to their woes but the party is unsustainable by design

It was the second meeting in the last three days as the poll strategist had met Gandhi on Saturday and gave a detailed presentation to the top leadership on the way forward for 2024 general elections, while expressing readiness to join the party.

In a series of meetings held recently with the Congress leadership, Kishor is said to have proposed a revival strategy for the Congress along with a plan for the 2024 general elections.

Kishor, during his presentation, also suggested measures which the party could adopt to improve its position in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat -- the two states going to polls later this year.

Bulldozing a resurgent rainbow coalition led by the Samajwadi Party, the BJP on Thursday stormed back to power in Uttar Pradesh and also retained Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa, while Arvind Kejriwal's AAP scripted a stellar victory in Punjab, winning a three-fourth majority pulverising its rivals.

According to Kishor, Congress is vital for the Opposition bloc to pose a formidable challenge to the BJP. But the party, "under the current leadership", may fall short of fulfilling its role, he suggested.

Kishor’s comments come a day after West Bengal chief Mamata Banerjee's dig at Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.

Recently, Prashant Kishor hit out at the Congress, saying those looking for its quick revival in the wake of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident are in for a big disappointment as there are "deep-rooted problems" in the grand old party.

Moily said the G-23 has no role to play and has become irrelevant “as reform in the Congress is underway under Sonia Gandhi”.

The resignation comes at a time when there is speculation regarding Kishor's induction into the Congress party

The 23 members of I-PAC have been reportedly booked under the National Disaster Management Act along with Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code.

Even as the Centre has so far been unmoved by the calls for a judicial probe into the Pegasus scandal, the Mamata Banerjee-headed Bengal government on July 26 announced a commission of inquiry into the alleged surveillance.

President of the Tripura unit of Trinamool Congress, Ashish Lal Singh, termed it as an attack on democracy.

TMC’s Sukhendu Sekhar Ray has given a 267 notice, seeking suspension of Rules of business in the Rajya Sabha, for a discussion on Pegasus. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh has given Zero Hour notice in Rajya Sabha on the issue while Congress MP Manickam Tagore has given adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha over the issue.

Prashant Kishor, who has fuelled speculations with his meeting with senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had managed the TMC's election campaign in Bengal.

The 74-year-old leader, who has been a parliamentarian nine times and is currently leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh, may be entrusted with a key role in the grand old party as part of the revival plans.

Prashant Kishor had earlier met Punjab CM Amarinder Singh on the impending changes in the Punjab Congress. There was no official word on what was discussed at the meeting with Kishor that lasted almost over 90 minutes.

According to sources, the closed-door discussions between Kishor and Pawar, held at the latter's residence in Delhi, lasted for about an hour.