(Image source from: twitter.com/ANI)

TDP Denies Reports of Hiring Prashant Kishor’s Political Consultancy IPAC:- Telugu Desam Party (TDP) spokesperson Lanka Dinakar on Friday dismissed reports that party chief and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had plans to rope in the consultancy, mentored by political strategist Prashant Kishor.

Naming the claims as "propaganda", Dinakar told ANI, "N Chandrababu Naidu is introspecting the party's defeat in the recent State Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. Meanwhile, there are rumors and propaganda that TDP is going to use the services of Prashant Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC) but we haven't taken any such decision. We strongly condemn this propaganda."

Lanka Dinakar, TDP: N Chandrababu Naidu introspected recent defeat in State Assembly & LS polls, meanwhile there are rumors & propaganda that TDP is going to use the services of Prashant Kishor's IPAC but we haven't taken any such decision. We strongly condemn this propaganda. pic.twitter.com/dvfFXrYUhS

— ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2019

Issuing a clarification, he maintained that the TDP is a cadre-based party and it does not need any consultant's services.

Recently, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also met with the IPAC founder and Janata Dal (U) vice president Kishor.

Kishor was recently credited with scripting Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's spectacular victory in Andhra Pradesh where his party YSRCP bagged 151 out of 175 Assembly seats. In 2015, Kishore was also said to have played a role in bringing Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and JD(U) under the banner of Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) in the 2015 Bihar Assembly polls.

Kishor had joined active politics earlier this year in September when he was made a Vice President of JD(U) by party chief Nitish Kumar.

By Sowmya Sangam