Prashant Kishor called the Congress offer "generous".
Political strategist Prashant Kishor's rejection of the Congress's offer to join the party as a member of a committee on Tuesday came with a side of advice.
"I declined the generous offer of Congress to join the party as part of the EAG (Empowered Action Group) and take responsibility for the elections," he wrote in his first reaction on Twitter.
"In my humble opinion, more than me, the party needs leadership and collective will to fix the deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms," he added.
Prashant Kishor's move came after the Congress refused to give him a free hand to revive the party by assuming a senior rank, sources said, instead offering him a spot at the discussion table.
"Following a presentation & discussions with Sh. Prashant Kishor, Congress President, has constituted an Empowered Action Group 2024 & invited him to join the party as part of the group with defined responsibility. He declined. We appreciate his efforts & suggestion given to party," senior party leader Randeep Surjewala tweeted.
The announcement came a day after the Congress kept up the suspense on Mr Kishor's entry, instead announcing an "Empowered Action Group" to address "political challenges" ahead of the 2024 national elections and a three-day conclave in Rajasthan's Udaipur next month.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi formed the 2024 task force following a report filed by an eight-member committee last week and a discussion on it today, party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
He also said, "The Congress President has decided to convene a Chintan Shivir of the Indian National Congress Nav Sankalp in Udaipur on May 13th, 14th and May 15, 2022. About 400 Congressmen and women from every state will participate."
Ahead of the announcement, the Congress was widely expected to decide whether it will accept Prashant Kishor's proposal to revamp the grand old party ahead of the 2024 elections.
The poll strategist had at least three meetings with the Congress leadership in recent weeks, during which he had given detailed presentations on his plan to rejuvenate the party reeling under a series of poll debacles over the past few years.
Top leaders of the party discussed the pros and cons of roping in Mr Kishor and what role he can be given if he is taken on board, sources said.
The committee, however, remained divided on bringing him on board with leaders like Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Ambika Soni in his favour and Digvijaya Singh, Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh against, sources said.
The latest plans of a task force and a conclave follow a massive rout in the five states in the recently concluded elections that revived searing criticism of the Gandhi family and demands for a leadership change and a fresh round of grumblings by the "G-23" -the group of 23 "dissenters" who had written to Sonia Gandhi two years ago.