Amid ongoing tensions within the Congress party in Punjab ahead of the state assembly polls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has on Tuesday unfolded a big political drama in Delhi by meeting political strategist Prashant Kishor. In what has become a crucial meet, it also has invited the claims that Kishor is in talks with the national leaders to form a mega coalition by bringing all the opposition parties under one roof against the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. 

Kishor's recent meet with Nationalist Congress party president Sharad Pawar has given more weight to the claims that he is sketching out a plan to unite the opposition parties. While it is undeniable there would be talks between the Congress and Kishor for the mega coalition in the future, the reports close to the developments say that the reason behind the current meeting is to fix the political instability in the Congress ruling Punjab. According to ANI, Kishor has met Rahul Gandhi at the latter's residence in Delhi. 

While Rahul Gandhi had hosted the meet, senior Congress party leaders including Priyanka Gandhi, KC Venugopal, and Harish Rawat - incharge of Punjab were present during the meeting. The meeting has taken place in Gandhi's efforts to broker peace through Prashant Kishor between Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who turned out to be a critic of Amarinder Singh with whom Prashant Kishor joined as the political adviser. 

Punjab is one of the key states for the Congress under its rule and as the state is heading for the assembly polls in the early next year, the party's leadership should allay the tensions and furores within the party while preparing for the polls. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu are locking horns against each other in the state and both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi have met Amarinder Singh and Navjot Sidhu separately in recent weeks to restore peace between them. 

However, no consensus was reached between the two Punjab leaders, and the Gandhis had decided to meet Prashant Kishor to broker peace between the two veteran leaders. It has been noted that Prashant Kishor had played a pivotal role in bringing Navjot Singh Sidhu to the Congress party just before the Punjab assembly polls. It was time when Sidhu was thinking to find a new political shelter after quitting the BJP. While Sidhu was tossing up to join Congress or Aam Aadmi Party, Kishor had ended the toss and roped the former cricketer to the Congress party. 

However, things didn't go well between Sidhu and Amarinder Singh and as the rift had grown between them, Sidhu, who was serving in the state's cabinet, relinquished his minister post and began to take back his active presence in the party, two years after joining. Sidhu had claimed that he has been getting sidelined and the tug-of-war between both the leaders has been stirring tensions in Punjab ahead of the upcoming assembly polls. 

Both of them had met with the Congress leadership in Delhi separately, which had further widened the rift. Recently, after meeting Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, Amarinder Singh said, "I don't know anything about Sidhu. Whatever is the decision and whatever the Congress president wants, we will follow it." According to reports, Amarinder Singh didn't encourage the ideas that involve Sidhu's rise in the Punjab government and the party. In the last meeting, it was decided that Amarinder Singh would serve as the Chief Minister while Sidhu be given a prominent party post in Punjab. 

The Congress party has also formed a three-member committee, headed by senior party leader Mallikarjuna Kharge, to resolve the tensions in Punjab. Tuesday's meet was the first between Rahul Gandhi and Prashant Kishor in four years and besides discussing Punjab politics and restoring peace between the two leaders, the reports suggest that they also had discussed the national political strategy with the view of forming a potent coalition to take on the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. 

When Prashant Kishor met Nationalist Congress party president Sharad Pawar in Mumbai to form a front to attack BJP in 2024, both the leaders have said that there can be no alliance against BJP without the Congress. Five states will be going for the assembly polls next year and if the mega coalition is in the making, these assembly polls would be testing ground for the coalition to take on the BJP in the 2024 national polls.