New Delhi, July 13: Poll strategist Prashant Kishor may join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and advise Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the next Lok Sabha elections scheduled in 2019. Kishor has reportedly held several meetings with PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah to discuss strategy for the poll campaign.

"If the two had refused to work together forever, they wouldn't have been having lunch and dinner together on multiple occasions. If the prime minister advises, everyone will have to work unitedly. No one can defy the PM's advise," a BJP insider told India Today. Similar reports emerged in February this year, which was refuted by Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC).

Prashant Kishor is one the most sought-after political strategists in the country with an impressive track record. He strategised Modi's victory in 2012 Gujarat Assembly elections as well as in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Post-2014, Kishor left the BJP reportedly after Shah did not accept his demand for a plum post in the party.

After a bitter falling out with Shah, Kishor joined hands with the then Grand Alliance of the Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress in Bihar for 2015 state Assembly election. Once again, he proved his mettle and scripted victory for the Grand Alliance against the BJP. He was roped in by the Congress in Uttar Pradesh where he failed miserably.

Last year, Kishor helped YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy in his efforts to wrest power in Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, an I-PAC member had told a news channel that Kishor “keeps meeting leaders from all the major parties and nothing should be read in his recent talks with BJP members”.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 13, 2018 11:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).