Political strategists often remain low-profile and prefer to be in the background. But Prashant Kishor grabbed headlines soon after BJP’s mammoth victory in the 2014 general elections. There was no stopping for Kishor after that. He helped Nitish Kumar return to power in Bihar, and is now all set to back Sheila Dikshit, Congress’s chief ministerial candidate in the upcoming UP elections. He is also helping the Congress in the Punjab elections.

Here are five things to know about Prashant Kishor:

1.       Born in Bihar in 1977, Kishor began his career as a public health activist.

2.       Prior to his stint in politics, Kishore worked with the United Nations for several years in the health sector. His work included serving in an aid mission in Chad, Africa.

3.       Though Kishor is now helping the Gandhis in the coming state elections, things had not worked out too well for Kishor and Rahul Gandhi in the past. According to a Telegraph report, in 2007 Kishor approached Gandhi with a multi-pronged social sector blueprint. But Gandhi wanted Kishor to concentrate on public health and help him set up a multi-facility hospital in Amethi. Kishor, however, declined the offer.

4.       It was Narendra Modi who then saw Kishor’s potential and hired him to initially work on social sector policies. He later helped Modi in the 2012 Gujarat election campaign, steering him to victory.

5.       Kishor is co-authoring a book with journalist Sankarshan Thakur titled The Brothers Bihari. Therein, Kishor would talk about the factors influencing Indian voters today, their aspirations and what they demand from their leaders.