Bengaluru: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor will formulate several measures to revamp JD(S), with the mandate to bring the party back to power in the next Assembly elections. Several macro and micro manoeuvres will be chalked out by the strategist that will benefit the party.

Sources told Star of Mysore that Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has asked Prashant Kishor to work with former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy and bring JD(S) back to power in Karnataka which has seen the rules of both Congress and the BJP.

The Telangana CM met Kumaraswamy recently where he apparently told the latter not to tie up with any political party but to continue to work in the interests of farmers, a need of the hour now when the farmers are in deep distress. In light of the discussions, Chandrashekar Rao has asked Prashant Kishor to outline strategies.

JD(S) top brass wants to come out of the image of being a family-centric party. A makeover of the party image as a family-run and family-only party while not loosening the grip on the machinery will be proposed.

Image makeover

Also, an image makeover for their CM candidate, Kumaraswamy, is also on cards along with the projection of two young faces, two grandsons of former PM H.D. Devegowda — Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Prajwal Revanna.

The party’s footprint has been restricted to the Old Mysore region and its primary vote bank is Vokkaligas.

Prashant Kishor will look into increasing the footprint of the party across Karnataka. Importantly, efforts will be made to project JD(S) as a party which is not just a kingmaker, but capable of forming a Government on its own.

Sources said that since the outcome of the Lok Sabha polls in May 2019, several young leaders in the party have been asking in the party forum to consider taking the services of Prashant Kishor and the party leadership had also approached the  poll strategist.

Kishor, through his consultancy firm I-PAC, had been involved with the BJP and the Congress before. While he was part of the success of Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy-led YSRP in Andhra Pradesh, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) roped him for the Delhi Assembly elections.

For several months, the JD(S) has been trying to firm up its understanding with I-PAC but it has not been able to move forward. The JD(S) wants to reach out to the younger generations and as part of the strategy to do so, social media platforms will also be used extensively. It has felt the need for professional advice to attract them to the JD(S).