Political strategist and former Janata Dal (United) leader Prashant Kishor on Monday called Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a “tired and politically-belittled leader” while seemingly congratulating him after his oath-taking ceremony.

“Congratulations to Nitish Kumar on taking oath as BJP-nominated Chief Minister,” Kishor tweeted. “With a tired and politically-belittled leader as CM, Bihar should brace for few more years of lacklustre governance.”

Kishor and Kumar worked together for the 2015 Assembly elections in Bihar. However, Kishor was expelled from JD(U) along with national spokesperson Pavan Varma earlier this year after they criticised Kumar’s stand on the Citizenship Amendment Act.

More recently, Kishor had criticised his former boss for the plight of migrant workers during the coronavirus crisis. In March, he had tweeted a video showing workers who had travelled to Bihar crying after they were locked up inside a room.

Kumar was on Monday sworn in as the chief minister of Bihar for a fourth term. BJP leaders Renu Kumari Devi and Tarkishore Prasad took oath as the state’s deputy chief ministers.

Tejashwi Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal boycotted the ceremony in Patna. The party again alleged that there had been a fraud in the elections. Yadav also tweeted a sarcastic congratulatory message to Kumar. “Congratulations to Nitish Kumar for being ‘nominated’ the chief minister,” Yadav said. “I hope instead of pursuing his political ambitions, he will fulfil the NDA’s promise of 19 lakh jobs, and prioritise employment, education, healthcare etc.”

Lok Janshakti Party President Chirag Paswan was another leader who took a swipe at Kumar. He congratulated the BJP for “making Kumar the chief minister”.

The NDA won the Bihar elections by a slim majority. It secured 125 seats in the 243-member state Assembly. For the first time in Bihar, the JD(U) was relegated to a weaker position in comparison to its ally BJP. Kumar’s party pulled just 43 seats, while BJP bagged 74. This was JD(U)’s worst performance since the 2005 Assembly polls. The Opposition’s Grand Alliance won 110 seats.

Also read:

  1. Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for fourth term, PM Modi says ‘NDA family will work together’
  2. The Political Fix: With the BJP’s success in Bihar, has Modi out-Nitished Nitish Kumar?
  3. Decoding the Bihar results in 32 charts: Turnouts, vote shares, victory margins and more