Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday downplayed the plans of election consultant Prashant Kishor to enter state politics with a socio-political outfit of his own, and asserted that he has nothing to do with him.

“Leave these things. I have nothing to do with these things,” Nitish told media persons after attending the namaz of Id at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.

Nitish’s comment came on the heels of Kishor hinting at returning to grassroots politics from Bihar and forming an outfit of his own. Just a few days ago he had highlighted personal relations with the poll consultant, and had revealed that both of them were in regular touch.

Sources said Nitish’s reaction stemmed from the fact that Kishor had arrived in Patna on Sunday and was expected to meet him. However, the latter did not turn up and left him waiting.

Those who know Kishor said he was wary of Nitish using him as a bait to put further pressure on ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the current political situation where all is not well in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), or he could have sought details of his plans, which he is not yet ready to divulge.

Kishor will outline the blueprint of his plans in the state on May 5.

It was Nitish who made Kishor taste politics by anointing him the national vice-president of his Janata Dal United (JDU) in September 2018 and allowing him to work towards taking the party to youth.

However, the other senior JDU leaders did not welcome the new entrant imposed on them. Later, Kishor fell out with Nitish and accused him of wavering from the socialist ideals and siding with the people believing in ‘Godse’s philosophy’.

“He was expelled from the party in January 2020 amid a bitter war of words. A month later, a plagiarism case was slapped on him in Patna.

Kishor continued his meetings with experts and leaders from various sectors in the state capital on Tuesday. He also met student leaders from Patna University. He had helped them win in students’ union polls in 2019.

“He (Kishor) told us that there was not much difference between Nitish and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad or their parties. Even the BJP was no different, hence the plight of the people and Bihar at the bottom among the states with regard to economic development. He sought our help to bring a change,” one of the persons invited to meet him told The Telegraph.

The poll consultant’s family hails from Konar village in Rohtas district, but he was born and raised in Buxar where his father Srikant Pandey was a doctor in a sub-divisional hospital.

Senior JDU leaders told this newspaper that Kishor is a strong-willed person and has an autocratic streak in him.

“He pushed himself as the second most important person while he was in our party and wanted a free-hand to run things. He would never bother about the rules. This led to friction between him and our leader R.C.P. Singh, currently the Union steel minister,” a senior JDU leader said on the condition of anonymity.

the BJP leaders in the state have hit out at the coming back of Kishor as somebody who is being propped up by vested interests to cut votes.

“It seems some parties are promoting him to take over the role of vote-cutting in Bihar. Kishor’s outfit will just become a political shop,” BJP OBC Morcha national general secretary Nikhil Anand said.

The RJD leaders asserted that Kishor’s organisation will not have any impact on young Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, who has made a mark as the leader of the masses in the state.

It seems Kishor is in for an uphill task in Bihar.