Mamata to reportedly give Z security cover to Kishor in Bengal

Kolkata: Political strategist Prashant Kishor is likely to get the Z category security in West Bengal, sources told Zee News on Monday. All the formalities have been done with the details of the personal security officers (PSOs) and an official order is likely to be issued soon, added the sources.

On June 7, 2019, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) had signed on Kishor to chart out their poll strategy and counter the rise of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of 2021 West Bengal Assembly election. A deal between TMC and Kishor's team was finalised on June 6, 2019. However, unlike the previous elections, Kishor will not be the face of the campaign and will only bring in his domain expertise and his team on board. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with her nephew and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, had a meeting with Kishor at state secretariat Nabanna in Howrah. The meeting lasted for 1 hour 40 minutes.

Kishor is credited for charting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's election campaign in 2014 Lok Sabha election and more recently, Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress' spectaculor victory in Andhra Pradesh. The YSRC won 22 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats and 151 out of 175 Assembly seats May 2019. Kishore had also played a critical role in bringing Rashtriya Janata Dal and JD (U) together under the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) in the 2015 Bihar Assembly election.

In Lok Sabha 2019, the BJP had made stunning inroads in Trinamool-ruled West Bengal, winning 18 out the 42 Lok Sabha seats, up from just two seats in 2014. Trinamool, on the other hand, nosedived to 22 seats.