Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday expressed hope that the “bitterness, ill-will and mistrust” caused by his recent exchanges with Janata Dal (United) leader and political strategist Prashant Kishor will fade away ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

Days after his scathing attack on Kishor over his comments that the JD(U) should contest more seats than the saffron party in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, Modi said “let bygones be bygones”, PTI reported. The BJP and the JD(U) are alliance partners in Bihar.

“May the New Year bring peace and prosperity to the people of Bihar, who give their blessings to National Democratic Alliance just like they did in the parliamentary elections last year,” Modi said, adding that the BJP and the JD(U) have a lot to look forward to in the state.

On Monday, Modi had launched an attack on Kishor and said that those who entered politics by running a company that “collects political data and coins slogan” are hurting the National Democratic Alliance with their adverse remarks. He had accused the JD(U) leader of helping the Opposition by violating “coalition dharma”. Modi, however, did not name Kishor in his tweets.

Kishor hit back at Modi, and said it was the people of Bihar who gave JD(U) the status of the largest party in the state. “It is a pleasant surprise to hear Sushil Modi lecture on political decorum and ideology, especially because he got to become Bihar’s deputy chief minister after his party’s loss in 2015,” the election strategist added.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, however, had downplayed the war of words, saying “all is well”.

Kishor has time and again also expressed his disappointment with the JD(U)’s decision to vote in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament.