PATNA/NEW DELHI: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar , a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi , is now learnt to be keen on poaching one of Modi’s innovative campaign strategist, tech-savvy Prashant Kishor , to plan his party’s outreach in the assembly elections later this year. Kishor, 37, a public health specialist with a stint at the UN, is tightlipped, but sources said he might take up the job of strengthening Modi’s bête noire campaign. When contacted, Kishor neither denied nor confirmed reports of his joining Nitish’s electoral campaign."It’s speculation. No comment," he told TOI over phone, while confirming he had worked for Modi for three years before the Lok Sabha polls . "I was never associated with BJP. I was working for Modi," he said.A reticent person, Kishor joined Team Modi in early 2012 – almost a year before the assembly elections in Gujarat. One of his first assignments was to hire a taxi and move around Gujarat – something Kishor did diligently – to smell the ground.For a good six months after he silently started operating from Modi’s official CM bungalow in Gandhinagar, even senior party leaders had little idea of who this bespectacled young man was. It was only by mid-2012 that BJP officials and bureaucrats started taking Kishor seriously. He became a part of almost every poll-related meeting.Game-changing initiatives like Modi’s 3-D hologram, chai pe charcha and the build-up to the Statue of Unity were all Kishor’s brainchild. But what helped Modi and BJP the most was the parallel mechanism which Kishor set up – an NGO by the name of Citizens for Accountable Governance – involving professionals, students from IITs and expats.Most people around Modi believed Kishor would get a good role once Modi became PM. However, amid the victory celebration, Kishor quietly faded away. Insiders say Modi’s decision to push Kishor aside was largely influenced by party chief Amit Shah, who, sources said, not very fond of the young man."Modi had started assigning jobs to Kishor which normally Shah would execute. Many bureaucrats and senior party men too did not appreciate that he had become Modi’s bridge to the world," says a Gujarat BJP official. But, sources close to Kishor said he had taken a year’s break after Modi became the PM."Since it’s election time, political parties are in touch with people like him to help chalk out campaign strategies. JD(U) is no exception," said a person close to Kishor, not wanting to be named.JD(U) Rajya Sabha member from Bihar, Pavan K Varma, said, "We’ll welcome him (Kishor) as and when he joins us. He is known for his social media management and communication skills. If he joins JD(U), he will be an asset for us."Bihar BJP chief Mangal Pandey said Kishor might be in touch with Nitish. "They are professionals and work for money. Kishor had a team. We’ve not contacted him. Even we are roping in professionals who worked for other parties in Jharkhand elections," Pandey said.