Top Bobby Jindal aides join campaign-in-waiting

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s chief-of-staff and a second aide are leaving the governor’s office to join his presidential exploratory committee, less than a week before Jindal is set to announce his 2016 plans, two sources familiar with the move told CNN.

Chief-of-staff Kyle Plotkin and Jindal’s deputy communications director Shannon Dirmann will leave the conservative governor’s office Friday to join the exploratory committee.

The pair are expected to serve in communications roles for Jindal’s anticipated presidential campaign.

Jindal is widely expected to launch a bid for the Republican presidential nomination at a June 24th event in New Orleans and would become the 13th candidate to formally join the GOP fray.

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“If I decide to announce on June 24th that I will seek the Republican nomination for President, my candidacy will be based on the idea that the American people are ready to try a dramatically different direction,” Jindal said in a statement earlier this month. “We don’t need just small changes, we need a dramatically different path.”

Plotkin has worked for Jindal in the governor’s office since 2008, initially starting as press secretary. A Jindal presidential campaign would be Plotkin’s second, having previously served as policy aide for former Gov. Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Dirmann has also served in the governor’s office since 2008 and previously served as deputy press secretary.

The pair will have their work cut out for them if Jindal jumps into the race, as the Louisiana governor and one-time GOP wunderkind looks to regain momentum for his presidential ambitions.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal waves to the crowd at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, Maryland, where he spoke on February 26, 2015.

Jindal talks with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley before President Barack Obama addressed members of the National Governors Association at the White House on February 23.

Jindal and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (center) campaign with Florida Gov. Rick Scott on November 3, 2014, in The Villages, Florida.

Jindal, a gun rights advocate, speaks during the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting Leadership Forum on April 25, 2014 in Indianapolis.

Jindal greets President Obama at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans on November 8, 2013.

Following Hurricane Isaac, which hit Louisiana in August 2012, Jindal takes part in a briefing with President Obama, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana (left) and Saint John the Baptist Parish President Natalie Robottom in the Emergency Operations Center in LaPlace, Louisiana.

Jindal campaigns for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on May 24, 2012.

Jindal and Texas Gov. Rick Perry walk together after a Perry presidential campaign meet-and-greet in Muscatine, Iowa, on December 21, 2011.

Jindal speaks with workers and fishermen involved in the cleanup effort of the BP oil spill on a command post boat in Barataria Bay on June 15, 2010, off Grand Isle, Louisiana.

Jindal listens to reporters' questions in Venice, Louisiana, on May 12, 2010, after the BP oil spill, which has been called the largest environmental disaster in American history.

Jindal shakes hands with Marine Corps veteran Elmo Norton after speaking to delegates at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans on April 9, 2010.

Jindal, his wife Supriya and children attend the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl XLIV victory parade on February 9, 2010.

Jindal tours reconstruction efforts at Jackson Barracks, the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard, with then-President George W. Bush on August 20, 2008.

Jindal speaks at St. David's Catholic Church in New Orleans with Sen. John McCain during the Arizona senator's bid for president in 2008.

Jindal takes the oath of office on January 14, 2008 -- becoming the country's first Indian-American governor -- while his wife Supriya holds the Bible.

Jindal speaks to the media at a rally in Covington after his victory in the 2007 gubernatorial race.

After he lost the gubernatorial race in 2003, Jindal ran for a seat in the U.S. House and served in Congress from 2005 until his inauguration as governor in 2008. Here, he joins Sen. Mary Landrieu and other members of the Louisiana congressional delegation at a press conference to discuss relief and recovery legislation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Jindal concedes defeat in the 2003 Louisiana governor's race at his election headquarters, with wife Supriya and 2-year-old daughter Selia-Elizabeth at his side.

Jindal shakes hands with his Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, at the Louisiana gubernatorial debate in 2003.

While campaigning for his first gubernatorial campaign in November 2003, Jindal gets a high-five from young supporter in Shreveport.

Bobby Jindal's career in politics

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Once viewed by party bigwigs as a rising star, the Indian-American governor’s fortunes began to fade after he gave the Republican response to Obama’s first joint address to Congress – a response most remembered for Jindal’s awkward delivery than anything else.

Jindal is now polling toward the bottom of the field, registering at just 1% in the latest CNN/ORC poll this month.

But Jindal has also carved out a niche of vibrant support among evangelical Christians and especially activists in the movement to repeal the Common Core educational standards.

After first implementing the standards in his state, Jindal has since become one of the anti-Common Core movement’s most vocal champions.

He’s also positioned himself as a top opponent of “political correctness” and has at times led his party’s charge in railing against radical Islam, while also straying into controversial territory.