Following allegations that his relationship with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was fraying, electoral strategist Prashant Kishor visited with his former boss, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. While the meet-up over dinner sparked speculation of a two-year reunion, the JD(U) chairman played it down.
Kumar dismissed the rumours, saying that their ties are old and that the meeting should not be read too much into. “Hum dono ka sambandh koi aaj ka nahin hai, hum dono ka sambandh koi aaj ka nahin hai, hum dono ka s (Does my friendship with Prashant Kishor begin today?) The meeting has no special significance,” the 70-year-old chief minister said, according to news agency ANI.
Kishor, a political strategist, worked closely with Kumar during the 2015 assembly elections and was later recruited into the JD(U) by the then-CM, who was also the party’s president, three years later. The data analyst, whose customers include the who’s who of Indian politics, moved fast through the ranks of the JD(U), rising to national vice president in a matter of months, prompting speculation that the reclusive chief minister had found his political successor in him.
The BJP, the JD’s alliance partner, was enraged by Kishor’s hostile position on the CAA-NPR-NRC affair (U). The JD(U) had voted in favour of the citizenship amendment bill in Parliament, only for Kumar to reverse course and have a resolution passed in the state assembly against the planned National Register for Citizens.
Nonetheless, the political newcomer misinterpreted the signals when his cunning employer attempted to downplay Kishor, causing the BJP to suffer. Kumar revealed at a news conference that Amit Shah had requested him to induct Kishor into the JD (U).
Kishor flinched and accused his party chief of lying, having worked as a poll strategist for Narendra Modi and then for anti-BJP figures like Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee. Less than 24 hours later, he was fired from the party. He was then inducted into the Trinamool Congress as a poll strategist, and was credited with playing a key role in the party’s historic victory in the West Bengal assembly elections of 2021.
Later, rumours surfaced that Kishor was in a difficult position with Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek, escalating the tension.
In recent interviews, the i-PAC president has mentioned his friendly relationship with Nitish Kumar, as well as a few other figures with whom he would like to reunite.
