If Nitish Kumar becomes Bihar CM, he should give credit to Shiv Sena, says Sanjay Raut

Sena mouthpiece Saamana heaped praises on RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for putting up a spirited fight in the Bihar polls where the BJP and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) won a clear majority.

Sanjay Raut, the chief spokesperson of the Shiv Sena, on Wednesday reiterated that if Nitish Kumar becomes the chief minister of Bihar again, he should give credit to the Sena, as it has shown what an ally can do, if the other alliance partner goes back on his word.

Shiv Sena leader and Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut said that the Bihar election results has shown what an ally can do, if the other alliance partner goes back on his word. (HT File)

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Raut said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are saying they have given him their word [on the CM post]. Nitish Kumar’s party is on the third spot. If the BJP keeps their word and if defeated Nitish Kumar becomes the CM again, he should give the credit to the Shiv Sena. Because we have shown in Maharashtra what happens if a word is not kept in an alliance.”

Sena mouthpiece Saamana heaped praises on RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for putting up a spirited fight in the Bihar polls where the BJP and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) won a clear majority.

An editorial in the Marathi daily published on Wednesday said it was not ready to believe that Tejashwi lost the election, adding that Bihar has seen the rise of a young leader in Tejashwi Yadav.

“Tejashwi hasn’t lost. Merely losing an election does not mean defeat. His fight was a big struggle - not only in the family but also against the powerful in Patna and Delhi. PM Narendra Modi called him the ‘prince of jungle raj’, while Nitish Kumar made an emotional appeal to voters saying it was his last election. But Tejashwi focused on issues of development, employment, health, education in the poll campaign,” the editorial said.

The editorial further added that poor performance of the Congress hurt Tejashwi’s chance at becoming the chief minister. “Bihar has seen the rise of Tejashwi era. He single-handedly fought the people in power. It would be an injustice to Tejashwi to say that Modi’’s charisma worked in Bihar. The election, which looked one-sided initially became a closely- fought contest due to Tejashwi,” it said.