AAP turns against Prashant Kishor? Kejriwal's MLAs question cabinet-rank post in Punjab

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday raised questions over poll strategist Prashant Kishor's appointment as principal advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. During the Budget Session of the Punjab Assembly, AAP MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan raised his voice and alleged that Kishor failed to deliver promises made during the 2017 elections and he has again been hired by the Congress government to "fool people again," sources said.

Prashant Kishor had been very successful in helping Captain Amarinder Singh win the 2017 Punjab elections, formulating a campaign along the lines of the one that had enabled Narendra Modi and the BJP's success in 2014. He had, however, not been given the space to similarly help the party in Uttar Pradesh, as per his own admission. Intriguingly, Kishor had also been employed by the Aam Aadmi Party to help it in its own Delhi election campaign which was widely successful.

Kishor hired to "fool people again": AAP MLA

Sources said that Sandhwan mentioned that he was raising the issues related to finances and claimed that the state exchequer will have to bear the expenses of Kishor. Farmer debt waiver, breaking the chain of drugs in 4 weeks, job to every household, smartphones to youth were some of the promises made by Kishor when he had planned the election campaign for Congress in 2017. 

The move by the Punjab government assumes significance as the Assembly polls are due early next year. Kishor's company, Indian Political Action Committee is assisting Mamata Banerjee's TMC in the upcoming crucial West Bengal election. In the 2017 Punjab Assembly election, Congress had stormed to power by bagging 77 seats in the 117-member House.

The Chief Minister's Office said the cabinet had cleared the appointment and Kishor had been designated in the rank and status of a cabinet minister, adding that he would be paid Re 1 as token honorarium. Kishor will also be given free fully-furnished government residence and camp office as admissible to a cabinet minister, the CMO tweeted, attaching a copy of the order.

Besides being provided staff, including one private secretary and a personal assistant, Kishor will be entitled to medical facilities and reimbursement of medical expenses as admissible to a cabinet minister. His term of appointment will be co-terminus with the tenure of present Punjab Chief Minister, as per terms and conditions of his appointment.

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Reacting to the appointment, the Akali Dal accused the Chief Minister of sprinkling salt on the wounds of Punjabis by appointing a "jumlabaaz" (a person who is rhetorical), PTI reported. "It's clear that the Congress party is banking on manufacturing a new set of lies in its bid to befool the people yet again," Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia said.

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