Month after joining JD(U), Kishor is V-P
PATNA: Janata Dal (United) president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday appointed poll strategist Prashant Kishor as national vicepresident a month after he joined the party, signalling a bigger role for him in state and national politics.
The post of JD (U) vice-president had been vacant since 2016 when Kumar became the party’s president, replacing Sharad Yadav. Party’s principal general secretary KC Tyagi confirmed Kishor’s appointment.
“Gratitude from the heart of the leadership of the party for this responsibility and respect. I am committed to the ideology of justice and Bihar in the development of law,” Kishor wrote in a Twitter post following his appointment.
JD (U) state spokesperson Sanjay Singh said Kishor’s experience as a poll strategist would help strengthen the party. Party leaders said the first task of Kishore will be to strike a seat-sharing deal with the BJP, where Kishor was the chief poll strategist for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. “His role will be cut out. The party expects a miracle from him again. What he did in 2015, by virtually scripting a sweep for the Grand Alliance, comprising JD (U), RJD and the Congress, which was unimaginable in the midst of the Modi wave,” said a senior JD(U) leader, requesting anonymity.
Party leaders who are happy with his elevation feel that Kishor will be an asset with his in-depth and ground-level understanding of social equations of each and every assembly and parliamentary constituency in Bihar, ahead of the 2019 general elections.
THE FIRST TASK OF KISHOR WILL BE TO STRIKE A SEATSHARING DEAL WITH BJP, WHERE HE WAS THE CHIEF POLL STRATEGIST DURING 2014 LOK SABHA POLLS