Sources said Prashant Kishor's political consultancy team IPAC is working for KCR
Election strategist Prashant Kishor reportedly met K Chandrasekhar Rao at his farm house outside Hyderabad over the weekend, setting off speculation amid the Telangana Chief Minister's efforts to cobble a front against the BJP ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Telangana is heading for assembly polls in December next year, in which Mr Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samithi is hoping for a third straight term in power.
Sources said Prashant Kishor's political consultancy team IPAC is working for KCR and a formal contract has also been signed, though its details are not known yet.
Mr Kishor is credited with successfully handling the campaign of MK Stalin-led DMK in Tamil Nadu and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh.
The IPAC chief, whose ties with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has been subject of intense speculation, also met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar recently for lunch. Though Mr Kishor dismissed it as a casual meeting, reports of his strained ties with Ms Banerjee and Mr Kumar's past efforts to keep ally BJP in check in the state, have added extra dimensions to the issue.
The IPAC -- which has been handling Ms Banerjee's efforts to expand and acquire a pan-India appeal -- has been caught in the crossfire between her and her increasingly ambitious nephew Abhishek Banerjee. Sources close to I-PAC, however, dismissed reports of rift with the Chief Minister.
Ms Banerjee is also one of the regional leaders Mr Rao has been cultivating for his anti-BJP front, along with Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress chief Sharad Pawar and Janata Dal Secular patriarch HD Deve Gowda.
Popular actor Prakash Raj -- known for his strong anti-BJP views -- was also present during Mr Kishor's visit to the TRS government's flagship Kaleswaram project during his stay in Telangana.
Prakash Raj's presence came as a surprise during Mr Rao's recent visit to Mumbai, when he met his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. It set off speculation that TRS will nominate Prakash Raj to the Rajya Sabha to effectively pitch its views at the national level.
Sources close to Mr Raj have confirmed that he will be playing a political role and a formal announcement is expected soon.
Mr Raj had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha from Bengaluru as an Independent.