In the 2019 Andhra Pradesh elections, Prashant Kishor and his team from IPAC played a pivotal role in securing a major victory for Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress (YCP). However, the 2024 elections saw a drastic reversal of fortunes for Reddy, with IPAC's involvement leading to a stunningly poor performance. From being the Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy was reduced to a mere MLA, with YCP securing only 11 seats compared to the anticipated 151.

Despite the initial success with IPAC’s strategic guidance, the 2024 election outcome was marred by what appeared to be significant miscalculations and misinformation. Jagan Mohan Reddy, confident in IPAC's capabilities, was led to believe that his party would achieve a landslide victory. After the election results were announced, he was taken aback by the discrepancy between expectations and reality, highlighting a severe disconnect between IPAC's predictions and the ground-level sentiment.

The contrast between Prashant Kishor’s effective strategies in 2019 and the 2024 campaign’s failure underscores his critical role in shaping electoral outcomes. Kishor’s approach in 2019 involved comprehensive planning, including public outreach and mass mobilization, which was notably absent in the 2024 campaign. Instead, the reliance on strategies like Siddham meetings, which faced allegations of crowd manipulation, seemed to falter. Kishor’s prior warnings about potential losses went unheeded, and his absence appears to have exposed the shortcomings of IPAC’s approach without his direct involvement. In the end, the experience suggests that IPAC's effectiveness is significantly tied to Kishor’s strategic input.