New Delhi: Credited with Nitish Kumar's victory in Bihar, election strategist Prashant Kishor is now reported to be in talks with Congress party for the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
Quoting two people close to Kishor and a senior Congress leader, The Economic Times has confirmed the news
The next Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are due to be held in 2017.
The daily reported that if Kishor takes up the assignment of Congress, it would be the most exciting and challenging for him.
After Nitish's victory in Bihar Assembly polls, there were reports that several political parties including Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK, Mamata Banerjee's TMC, had approached Kishor to plan strategy for upcoming elections.
The Congress party is also eyeing Kishor for the next year's Assembly poll in Assam.
Kishor was also the brain behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi's blockbuster campaign during 2014 Lok Sabha polls. After the BJP's return to power in New Delhi after a gap of 10 years, Kishor switched over to Modi's arch enemy Nitish.
One person, who has known Kishor since he ran Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), said that the latter is well aware that the party winning the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls will have a huge advantage in next general election in 2019.
The Congress also knows that its performance in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 polls will set the tone for 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The latest development hold significance in the backdrop of few reports suggesting that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had Kishor in New Delhi.
