Tejashwi Yadav opines on Nitish Kumar's 'friend or foe' quip: "Who hasn't he betrayed?"

Taking a jibe at Nitish Kumar's 'Friend or enemy' remark, Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday, reminded how Nitish had betrayed several parties including the RJD. Calling it 'Tit for tat', Yadav claimed that Kumar came to power through back doors and greed. Tejashwi has already ruled out Nitish Kumar's re-entry in the Mahagathbandhan amid tension between the NDA allies - JDU and BJP, since the Bihar polls.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India reports 18,645 new cases, 19,299 recoveries in 24 hours

Tejashwi: "Tit for Tat"

'Don't know who is friend or foe': Bihar CM Nitish Kumar turns bitter amid BJP-JDU tussle

Nitish: 'Failed to see friends'

On Saturday, at the JDU party meeting, Nitish said that he was unaware of who is his friend and who are the enemies during the Bihar polls. Moreover, he added that the seat distribution within the NDA  for the recently concluded assembly elections should have been done five months prior to the poll and that it was the delay that dealt Janata Dal (United) suffered a blow. He also said that false propaganda was spread against JDU, in a dig at LJP's Chirag Paswan, who contested the polls against Nitish but with PM Narendra Modi.

"The seat distribution within the NDA should have been done five months prior to the elections but that was not done and as a result, JDU had to pay a big price for it. I was not in favour of becoming the chief minister but because of the pressure of BJP and my party, I agreed to assume the post," adding, "People voted for us wherever we asked them and there was no confusion from our side. But false propaganda was spread against me and my party".

Nitish Kumar rubbishes RJD's claims of '17 JDU MLAs in touch with us'; terms it 'baseless'

Taking a dig at his allies, he said, "We failed to anticipate who were our friends and who were not and on whom we should have trusted. After the election campaign, we got to understand that things were not conducive for us but by that time it was too late". This quip of Nitish comes amid the delayed cabinet expansion in Bihar.

Just a day earlier, Nitish had said that no discussion took place on the expansion of the newly formed cabinet in the state. After meeting the top BJP leader at his official residence 1 Anne Marg in Patna, Kumar said that the matter did not come up for discussion. "As of now, there are 14 members in the state Cabinet. The issue (of Cabinet expansion) was not taken up for discussion at the meeting (with BJP leaders) yesterday (January 7)," said Kumar. As per the rules, a maximum of 36 ministers, including the Chief Minister, can be appointed to the 243-member Bihar Assembly. 

Crack in Gupkar alliance as J&K PC neta alleges proxy candidates; calls for introspection

JD(U)'s reduced clout

In the recent Bihar polls, while Nitish was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term his stature was reduced as his party won only 43 seats - down from 71 in 2015, while BJP bettered its tally winning 74 seats. BJP further asserted its dominance, with shifting Nitish's preferred deputy - Sushil Modi to the Rajya Sabha and installing two deputy CMs - 4-time MLAs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi instead. Faced with anti-incumbency, the NDA managed to eke out a majority winning 125 seats, compared to Mahagathbandhan which raked in 110 seats- mainly due to Tejashwi's campaign.