Nitish's position not the same in BJP as he had in Grand Alliance, says Congress

ANI news agency quoted Congress leader PL Punia as saying, "Nitish Kumar always had a respectable persona. But now he does not have that same figure in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government as he used to have in the grand alliance as the Chief Minister. He is just trying to fit in the BJP."

Nitish, who on July 26th ended his alliance with the RJD-Congress coalition, joined hands with the BJP later in the day as Sushil Kumar Modi was sworn in as the deputy Chief Minister of the state while the former kept his position.

Interestingly, Nitish had severed his ties with the BJP in 2013, after the party named Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate.

A year later the BJP swept the general elections breaking several poll records.

However, following the renewal of his friendship with the BJP, Nitish has gone on records to praise Modi.

On Monday he was quoted in the media as stating that Modi is the 'biggest leader' in the country and that no one has the ability to 'defeat him'.

Both Modi and Nitish have exchanged barbs in the past, but have seemingly reconciled.

Meanwhile, following Nitish's shift in alliance, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav has castigated both Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar, blaming the latter for disrespecting the people's mandate.

Lalu has also invited Janata Dal (United) co-founder Sharad Yadav to join hands with him and fight against the Modi-Nitish duo.