While the political grapevine is alive after the announcement of strategist Prashant Kishor wanting to join the Grand Old Party, the existing Congress cadre may not have taken so kindly to the development.

After BJP’s Narottam Mishra commented on the possibility of Kishor joining Congress and ‘giving a lesson’ to Congress MP leader Kamal Nath, the former chief minister said on Friday that the party was not ‘dependent’ on anyone in Madhya Pradesh.

“Whether Prashant Kishore comes or not, we are prepared and not dependent on anyone in MP,” said Kamal Nath.

Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that if Kishor came to Congress, Nath would be ‘laid to rest’. “If Kamal Nath did not learn from the public, now he will be taught by Kishor,” he had hit out at Nath.

Opposition parties have reacted to claims of the Kishor joining and revamping the Congress ahead of the 2024 polls.

Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party had hit out at the Congress, calling it a “dead horse” after Kishor had attended the grand old party’s meeting presided over by Sonia Gandhi.

Following its landslide victory in Punjab, the AAP projected its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal as the “only” national challenger to the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP.

Describing Kishor as a brand with proven credentials, Congress general secretary Tariq Anwar on Thursday had said the poll strategist is willing to join the party without any preconditions and his induction would certainly help the party.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Anwar said, wants to take senior leaders into confidence and seek their opinion on whether Kishor’s entry into the party will be beneficial or not and then take a decision on the much speculated matter.

Discussing the party’s fortunes, Anwar said the Congress would be the natural leader of an anti-BJP front for the 2024 general elections as no other party has its pan-India appeal or its presence. He also backed Rahul Gandhi as president, saying party workers and leaders wished it too but ultimately the party would decide in the upcoming polls.

“Some say the Gandhi family should move away but the feeling in Congress is that if any face has a pan-India presence and appeal, it is that of the Gandhi family. So we want a leader who has a national appeal,” the former Union minister said.

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