Ruling JD(U) in Bihar on Thursday distanced itself from poll strategist Prashant Kishor after reports emerged that he will start working for Mamata Banerjee from next month.
"As an official spokesperson of JDU, I am telling you that the party has no knowledge about it. Anyway, what has JDU got to do with what Prashant Kishor is doing personally? Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has already said that he came to us as an activist. Now, if he is not interested in being an activist, what should we do?" JDU spokesperson Ajay Alok said while talking to .
JDU is an ally of BJP which is up against Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal.
"We have got nothing to do with it. The best person to speak on it will be Prashant Kishor himself," he added.
When asked about Kishor being regarded as the number two in the party, the JDU spokesperson said, "There is no such hierarchy in our party. We have the national president and after that, there are members and officials of the party. He is also one of the party officials."
When asked if the party will take action against him, Alok said, "Action for what? First, let us know what the matter is. That is why I am saying that you should ask it to Prashant Kishor instead."
Political strategist Prashant Kishor, who is credited with successfully strategising Narendra Modi's prime ministerial campaign in 2014 and some others later, on Thursday met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and is believed to have agreed to work with her in the state.
Kishor, who last joined JD(U) in Bihar but was feeling sidelined due to the internal power struggle, is likely to start working with Banerjee after a month.
Assembly elections are due in West Bengal in 2021 and the ruling Trinamool Congress has suffered severe reverses in the recent Lok Sabha elections in which BJP has made rapid strides. The BJP has won 18 seats in West Bengal against Trinamool Congress which won only 23 seats.
Kishore was recently credited with scripting Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's spectacular victory in Andhra Pradesh where his party YSRCP bagged 151 out of 175 Assembly seats. In 2015, Kishore was also said to have played a role in bringing Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and JD(U) under the banner of Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) in the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls.
Kishor had joined active politics last year in September when he was made a Vice President of JD(U) by party chief Nitish Kumar.
( With inputs from ANI )