Have KCR and Prashant Kishor fallen out even before they could team up? Was there a difference of opinion on KCR’s entry into national politics? The political circles, including the TRS leaders, are engaged in an animated debate on the issue. Whenever any two leaders meet, this topic is inevitably cropping up.

KCR reportedly wanted to hire Prashant Kishor for boosting his profile at the national level and also to assess the performance of his MLAs in the runup to the 2023 assembly elections. As part of this strategy, KCR has already upped his ante and began a strident attack on the BJP government at the Centre. He has also begun talking to the leaders of various other regional parties.

However, highly placed sources say that PK has advised KCR to support the leadership of Mamta Banerjee. He is said to have told him that with just 17 MP seats, Telangana can possibly play no role in national politics. He reportedly told KCR that since West Bengal has the highest number of Lok Sabha seats among the non-BJP parties, KCR should support her.

An upset KCR has reportedly disagreed and is said to have snapped the discussion. However, TRS sources say that the Team PK’s survey and evaluation of the performance of the TRS MLAs would continue and these reports would be used to decide on the candidates for the 2023 elections.