Days after delivering a blow to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by winning the Bankipur byelection in Bihar, Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor met Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sunetra Pawar, fueling speculations in the political corridor of the state.
The meeting, which lasted for six hours, was held at Sunetra's official residence 'Devgiri' in south Mumbai on Wednesday.
This was the second meeting between Sunetra and Kishor this year. The first meeting was held earlier when Kishor met Sunetra following the death of her husband Ajit Pawar. According to her son Parth Pawar, Kishor had known the family and conveyed his grief over Ajit's death.
For Wednesday's meeting, neither the NCP, nor the Jan Suraaj has issued a statement, but sources told India TV that discussions were held strengthening the former's organisational structure in the state. They said the NCP is in view of revamping its organisational structure and Kishor's views were sorted for it.
The row over 'gungi gudiya' remark
The two leaders also discussed Congress calling Sunetra a 'gungi gudiya' (mute doll) that caused a massive row in Maharashtra, with the NCP demanding an apology from grand old party's state unit chief Harshwardhan Sapkal.
The Shiv Sena, an alliance member of the NCP, also came in Sunetra's defence, with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde saying that the Congress has insulted the women in Maharashtra. However, the Congress defended itself and said the party only described what the public believes about Sunetra.
Kishor's victory in Bankipur byelection
Coming to Kishor, he was recently elected to the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly after he won the Bankipur byelection, defeating the BJP in its bastion. Kishor received 64,151 votes against BJP's Neeraj Kumar, who polled 44,827 votes, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Kishor's victory is a huge setback for the BJP because the Bankipur seat has been a bastion of its national president, Nitin Nabin, who has been a four-time MLA from this seat. The saffron party has now said it would analyse the loss and take steps accordingly.
ALSO READ:
Inside BJP's Bankipur setback: Factors behind Prashant Kishor's big win | EXPLAINED
