Prashant Kishor-Nitish Kumar meeting sparks political buzz

Political strategist Prashant Kishor’s dinner meeting with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sparked off speculations in political circles. Kishor, who was expelled from the JD(U) in 2020, met Nitish at the chief minister’s official residence in Delhi on Friday evening.

The meeting comes amid reports of Kishor’s strained ties with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. The TMC's contract with the I-PAC head is till 2024 Lok Sabha elections in which Banerjee wants to position herself as a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Nitish, who met Kishor for the first time after they parted ways in 2020, however, insisted that no special significance should be attached to the meeting.

"Is my relationship with Prashant Kishor only from today? There is no special meaning behind the meeting," the chief minister was quoted as saying by ANI.

Reports said they held a closed-door meeting for around two hours.

Interestingly, Kishor has been vocal about his cordial relations with the Bihar chief minister and had named him as one of the few leaders with whom he would like to work with.

Meanwhile, sources close to the chief minister told NDTV that he decided to make his meeting with Kishor public as a message to the BJP, which has, of late, been openly critical of him on a range of issues.

In 2015, Kishor had helped the grand alliance of the JD(U), the Congress and the RJD to win Bihar Assembly elections, defeating the BJP-led alliance.

Kishor joined the JD(U) in 2018. He was made the vice president of the party before being expelled for making “controversial remarks” which the party found not in accordance with its policies.

Kishor had also opposed the party’s stand in a range of issues including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).