"He Is The Future": Nitish Kumar On Prashant Kishor Joining JD(U)

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inducted Prashant Kishor into JD(U) at a party meeting in Patna. (PTI)

After nearly six years of planning election strategy - first for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then for his rivals - Prashant Kishor joined politics on Sunday. The 41-year-old was inducted into JD(U) by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna. 

"He is the future I tell you," the JD(U) chief told NDTV, on Mr Kishor joining his party.

Last week, Prashant Kishor confirmed his career shift at an interaction with students of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. He said he was "done with campaigning for individuals and he was ready for "electoral politics."

The half a dozen white kurta pyjamas that Mr Kishor's political mentor, Nitish Kumar, had got tailored for him in 2015, when he was staying with him, will now be part of his regular wardrobe. The Chief Minister, it is said, wanted him to switch from jeans to the 'neta' attire.

In political circles, Prashant Kishor came to be known as Chanakya of Nitish Kumar and their association has continued even after Mr Kumar joined hands with the BJP. Lately, the two had a series of meetings, which raised buzz that JD(U) might be his chosen party.

Sources say Mr Kishor may be tasked with brokering peace between the Chief Minister and Lalu Yadav's party RJD, but the plan has not materialised, as Tejashwi Yadav, who is handling the party in his father's absence, is against it. 

Mr Kishor, who started his career in 2012, working closely with Narendra Modi, then Gujarat Chief Minister, made headlines after crafting his campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But after the elections, differences cropped up between him and BJP chief Amit Shah and Mr Kishor decided to go his own way. Over the next few years, Mr Kishor worked for political rivals of the BJP - not just Nitish Kumar but also the Congress.