Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has appointed electoral strategist Prasant Kishor as his adviser, officials said on Friday, a move seen as a reward for a man credited with cobbling together the grand alliance which beat the odds to sweep the assembly polls.
Kishor, 38, who has been given the rank of a Cabinet minister, will advice the chief minister on development policies and their implementation.
The appointment was confirmed late on Thursday night, the officials added.
Kishor, called the “man of technology and strategy” in grand alliance circles, emerged as the king-maker in Bihar last year after the three-party alliance won more than 170 seats beating speculations of a BJP victory.
Prior to his success in Bihar, Kishor had worked with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2014 parliamentary elections before switching sides.
Following the Bihar success, Kishor was also approached by ruling parties in West Bengal and Assam, where elections are due later this year.