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With his spiky gelled hair, classic black rim glasses, kurta-pajama teamed with sneakers, the articulate and cerebral Prashant Kishor is quite the new-age political strategist. Some might even call him a freelance campaign manager - having first pitched in for Narendra Modi, then providing consultancy services to Chama Cha Mapinduzi, the ruling party in Tanzania, and now positioning Nitish Kumar as a winner in Bihar.Kishor has admitted to his friends that he might have stayed with Modi but for being pushed aside by the PM's aides. But Modi's loss turned out to be Nitish's gain. Introduced to the JD(U) politician through a mutual friend, he told Nitish what he had going for him - and what he didn't. That was when Jitan Manjhi was proving a poor proxy for Nitish, and Kishor told him that to be regarded as an effective CM candidate, he must regain the post. Or else he would be seen as a sulking loser."I believed from the very beginning that Nitish Kumar was a wholesome product to sell," he told a group of visiting journalists in Patna. "He had performance, credibility, a sober personality and a formidable reputation as an administrator. If anything was missing, it was that he wasn't being regarded as a heavyweight politician. So the first step was to position him as a politician," Kishor said.From a public health officer in the United Nations to one of the most-talked about political strategists, Kishor has come a long way. His journey into politics began by chance in March 2011 when Modi spotted his research paper on malnutrition. He called over Kishor for a chat and was impressed by his fresh ideas, so much so After an hour with him, that the then Gujarat chief minister decided to rope him in and gave him space in the CMO itself- a rare honour.Kishor was then just 34 and heading the social policy and strategic planning division of UN in the Republic of Chad in central Africa. in 2011. He quit his job to join a team of young professionals who called themselves Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG). Soon, the CAG was strategizing for Modi's 2012 assembly polls in Gujarat, and eventually for the 2014 Lok Sabha election, which was pitched as a US Presidential-style campaign.Kishor was less familiar with Gujarat; much more with Bihar. His mother is from Balia in eastern UP and his father from Bihar; so he does have a sense for of the Bihari DNA. Not that he fumbled in Gujarat. When CM Modi was missing his most trusted lieutenant, Amit Shah, who had been exiled from Gujarat in connection with the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, Kishor consolidated his place in Modi's core group.The big moment came in early 2012, when Kishor identified the game-changer - 3D holographic projection. What impressed Modi most was Kishor's ability to make it cost-effective. Kishor worked with Modi very closely on the 'chai pe charcha' campaign, mass mobilisation for Sardar Patel's Statue of Unity and Vivekananda Yatra in 2012.Success has many fathers, and Kishor was never really given his due. As soon as Modi took oath as PM, Kishor started working on the next big project for his leader: taking CAG to the next level by inducting more professionals for CAG, who would help generate ideas for better governance. "The plan remained on paper. There were people around the PM who scuttled it," says Kishor.Unlike Gujarat, Kishor had to hit the ground running in Bihar as he formally joined Team Nitish on June 2, 2015 - just a few months before the polls. Like Modi, Nitish decided to keep him as close as possible - infact, Kishor has been operating out of Nitish's home, since moving to Patna, with a handful of his core colleagues from CAG."The challenges here were different from Gujarat, and even those faced during the national elections. We altered out our strategy keeping in mind the local needs - initiatives like Har Ghar Dastak, an outreach programme, worked well for JD(U)-RJD," he says. While the man is tight-lipped about his next move, Kishor will be a man much sought-after by politicians from now on. after pulling off Bihar for Nitish.Asked if he depended on research and data, Kishor told journalists in Patna, "No, I work with my instincts - and common sense." Asked if Congress could be salvaged, he said, "Why not? It still has around 20% of the national vote." So will Congress be his next stop?