Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday claimed that co-founder of the Janata Dal (United) Sharad Yadav was on his side in the political turmoil in Bihar. “Yes, he [Sharad Yadav] called me,” he told NDTV. “He has been in touch and he told us he is with us.”

The senior JD(U) leader has yet to make a public statement since Nitish Kumar was joined hands with the Bhartiya Janata Party and was sworn in as the chief minister of Bihar on Thursday, 14 hours after he resigned from the post. Sharad Yadav, however, is believed to have met Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Delhi after Kumar announced his decision.

The Congress, RJD and JD(U) made up the alliance in the state, which Kumar broke away from on Wednesday evening to ally with the BJP. The Bihar chief minister won the floor test in the Assembly on Friday with a comfortable 131-108 margin. After proving his majority in the House, he said the mandate was to serve the people of Bihar and not one family.