A recalcitrant JD(U) national vice president Prashant Kishor on Wednesday stuck to his guns, stating that the party- headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar- should have spared "a moment for all those who reposed their faith and trust in it" during the assembly polls in the state four years ago.
Kishor, also took a dig at Kumar for his turnaround of 2017 when he dumped the Grand Alliance and returned to the NDA, with the remark that the party "and its managers would not have been left with much to cut any deal with anyone" had it not won the assembly polls two years earlier.
JD(U) had fought 2015 Bihar polls in alliance with the Congress and the RJD.
"While supporting #CAB, the JD(U) leadership should spare a moment for all those who reposed their faith and trust in it in 2015. We must not forget that but for the victory of 2015, the party and its managers wouldnt have been left with much to cut any deal with anyone", Kishor tweeted.
The poll strategist-turned-politicians latest outbursts came barely a few hours after Kumars close aide and state minister Sanjay Jha had dismissed contrary opinions expressed by Kishor and national general secretary Pavan Varma as "personal opinions".
Rajya Sabha member and president of the JD(U)s Bihar unit Vashishth Narayan Singh also said in the national capital that once the party had made its stand clear, leaders should have refrained from "making public their personal views".
There is no fresh comment from JD(U) national general secretary Pavan K Varma, who also voiced disagreement on supporting CAB, and had urged Kumar to "reconsider" the stand when the legislation is debated in the Rajya Sabha.
Earlier, on Monday while the Bill was being put to vote in the Lok Sabha where it was passed by an overwhelming majority with all the 16 JD(U) MPs voting in support, Kishor had expressed disappointment with his partys decision to back the legislation.
He had said it was "incongruous with the partys constitution that carries the word secular thrice on the very first page and the leadership that is supposedly guided by Gandhian ideals".
Notably, Kishors association with the Bihar Chief Minister began ahead of the 2015 Lok Sabha polls when he had rendered his services as a professional political strategist.
The assembly elections was won handsomely by the Grand Alliance comprising JD(U), RJD and Congress. It was widely believed that the victory owed itself in a significant measure to en bloc voting in favor of the alliance by Muslims, whom the Bill allegedly discriminates against.
Kumar, upon his return to power for the third consecutive term, rewarded Kishor by appointing him as an adviser with cabinet minister rank.
The poll strategist thereafter got engaged in the poll campaign of the Congress in states like Punjab where it won
and in UP where it lost badly.
In 2018, a year after Kumars return to the NDA, Kishor was made a primary member of the party before being elevated to the post of national vice president weeks later.
Known for speaking his mind, Kishor had caused a flutter ahead of the Lok Sabha polls when he said that while he did not disapprove of Kumars volte face per se, he was of the view that before forging a new alliance the Bihar Chief Minister should have sought "a fresh mandate".
With his condor, Kishor who first came into limelight when he managed Narendra Modis spectacular poll campaign in 2014 had also upset the BJP which was already miffed over the young JD(U) leaders frank appreciation of Priyanka Gandhi and his professional engagement with leaders like TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Latching on to the fresh tweet of Kishor, whom he did not mention by name, state BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand posted on twitter "politics is all about ideological commitment but for whom? Of course, for the country and its people. When you are expected to rise to the occasion and take decision in the interest of the country, you cannot be led by past hangovers".
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