"BJP Funding Prashant Kishor As Part Of Election Strategy": Tejashwi Yadav

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday called poll strategist Prashant Kishor a "BJP agent". The BJP is losing the elections, so he has been called after three-four rounds of voting to set the narrative, claimed the former deputy chief minister of Bihar.

Mr Kishor, who now has his own party - Jan Suraaj, is a major political face in Bihar. Besides managing campaigns for several parties, he has also been the number 2 in Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United).

"Even my uncle (Nitish Kumar) had said that he made Prashant Kishor the national vice president (of JDU) at the behest of Amit Shah. Till date, neither Amit Shah nor Prashant Kishor has denied the claim. He has been with the BJP since the beginning. Whichever party he joins will be ruined," said Tejashwi Yadav.

The Nitish Kumar-Prashant Kishor bonhomie had ended on a bitter note in 2020 with the Chief Minister asserting he had inducted Mr Kishor into his party at the behest of Home Minister Amit Shah.

Tejashwi, the younger son of former chief minister Lalu Yadav and the party scion, further alleged that Mr Kishor keeps salaried district presidents, which perhaps even the BJP doesn't.

"Don't know where he gets the money from. He keeps working with different people every year. He takes your data and gives another. He isn't just a BJP agent, but a BJP mind. He follows their ideology. The BJP is funding him as part of their strategy," said Tejashwi Yadav.

The allegations come after a fake screenshot - claiming the BJP has appointed Mr Kishor as their national spokesperson - went viral on social media. The rumour prompted Mr Kishor's Jan Suraaj party to call out the fake news in a statement.

"Look at the irony! Congress, Rahul Gandhi You all talk about fake news and claim to be the victims. Now see yourself how the head of Communications of Congress Party, Jairam Ramesh, apparently a senior leader, is personally circulating a fake document," the party said in an online post.

The Congress and Tejashwi Yadav's RJD are allies.