Janata Dal (United) President Nitish Kumar on Tuesday appointed political strategist Prashant Kishor as the party’s vice-president, PTI reported. Kishor had joined the party last month.

Party spokesperson KC Tyagi said the appointment will help the Janata Dal (United), an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar, gather votes in next year’s Lok Sabha elections from social segments that are not its traditional base.

Kishor has in the past managed election campaigns for both the BJP and the Congress. He had formed the Indian Political Action Committee in 2015. Kishor worked closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2014 General Elections. He also handled the Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress’ successful election campaign in Bihar in 2015. However, Kishor could not help the ruling Samajwadi Party and its ally Congress win the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Kishor had said at an event at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad in September that he would not handle poll campaigns in 2019. “In 2019, you would not see Prashant Kishor campaigning for anyone in the manner and form in which I have been campaigning in last 4-5 years,” he said. He added that he wanted to leave the Indian Political Action Committee “in safe hands”.