Who is Prashant Kishor, don't know him personally: Hardeep Puri

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that he is not aware who is JD-U leader Prashant Kishor when asked about the latter's I-PAC political consultancy firm being roped in by the AAP, ahead of Delhi Assembly polls which is likely to be held early next year.

"Who is Prashant Kishor? I don't know him. There is a chap who used to work in UN, then he joined one party, then another party and then another party," Puri said when asked about Kishor being roped in by the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP and whether the move is giving sleepless nights to BJP.

When reporters told the minister that Kishor had worked with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the campaign in 2014 and is a part of the BJP-led NDA, Puri replied, "I was not here. Maybe I should have known him. But I don't know him."

Earlier on December 14, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that Kishor's I-PAC will manage AAP's poll campaign in the national capital.

"Happy to share that IndianPAC is coming on board with us," Kejriwal had tweeted.

Kejriwal led his party to a historic win by securing 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly in the 2015 polls.

Kishor has earlier successfully managed the election campaigns of Modi in 2014, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in 2015 and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in 2017. He also played a role in ensuring YSRCP's landslide victory in Andhra Pradesh during this year's Assembly polls.

However, the political strategist's association with Congress during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections could not ensure a win for the party which faced a disastrous defeat with the BJP winning a three-fourth majority.