Patna: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday claimed that he was getting "full support" from "uncle" Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) president who is a BJP ally, in his fight against the saffron party.
Mr Yadav made the remark, in an obvious bid to drive a wedge between the newly realigned NDA partners, at a rally in Bihar's Madhubani district.
The RJD leader, who lost his job as Bihar Deputy CM as a result of Mr Kumar's abrupt exit from INDIA bloc, said "chacha (uncle) may have been hijacked by the BJP. But he taught me the importance of driving out of power those whose ascent came in 2014. Deep down, he retains the sentiment".
"I know his blessings are with me because I am carrying forward his fight. Just take note, he has taken ill on the very day Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to file his nomination papers. It is clear I am getting his full support", remarked Mr Yadav.
Interestingly, the comments of the young, but deft, politician came on a day the Chief Minister's office came out with an unusually short statement declaring that Mr Kumar's "all programmes for the day have been cancelled because of illness".
Sources close to the leader claimed the septuagenarian had flu-like symptoms and he has also been pensive since Monday night when he received the news of the death of his close friend Sushil Kumar Modi, a senior BJP leader who had served as his deputy for more than a decade.
However, the absence of Bihar's longest-serving Chief Minister in Varanasi, where the PM was accompanied by most allies, including coalition partners from the state like Pashupati Kumar Paras, Chirag Paswan, Upendra Kushwaha and Jitan Ram Manjhi, has triggered speculations in a section of the media here.
Many news outlets claim that Mr Kumar felt slighted over the treatment he got at PM Modi's roadshow in Patna on Sunday when the JD(U) president was made to stand quietly beside the PM as he waved at the crowds and obliged a couple of channels with interviews.
Mr Kumar was also conspicuous by his absence at the Vidhan Sabha premises where mortal remains of Sushil Kumar Modi were brought, though senior JD(U) leaders like Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Devesh Chandra Thakur were present to pay tributes to the late leader who passed away at a Delhi hospital, battling cancer.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)