Lauding RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for giving a "spirited fight" in the Bihar Assembly polls, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday needled the BJP saying that if Nitish Kumar retains the post of chief minister despite the JD(U) winning fewer seats, the credit should go to the Sena.
It said that the BJP had promised that Nitish Kumar would be the next chief minister of Bihar even if his party bags less number of seats.
The BJP had given a same commitment to Sena during the Maharashra Assembly elections 2019, but BJP didn't keep it's promise, it led to a political drama in the state, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.
An editorial in Sena mouthpiece ''Saamana'' said that JD(U) could not win even win 50 seats in the Bihar elections, while the BJP bagged 70 seats.
Shiv Sena and the BJP had contested the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections together, but the alliance broke after results following differences over sharing the chief ministerial post. The Sena then joined hands with the NCP and the Congress to form Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.
The ruling party in Maharashtra praised RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who was the Mahagathbandhan's chief ministerial candidate, for putting up a formidable fight in Bihar.
"Bihar has seen the rise of Tejashwi era. He single- handedly fought the people in power. It would be 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.
The poor showing of Congress hurt Tejashwi's chances, it added.
"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.
"Narendra Modi called him "jungle raj''s yuvraj", while Nitish kumar made a emotional appeal to voters saying it was his last election. But Tejashwi focused on the issues of development, employment, health, education in the poll campaign," the Sena said.
"The Bihar elections gave a new Tejashwi (shining) face to the national politics. He needs to be congratulated," the editorial said.
In a dramatic close contest in the Bihar Assembly elections, it was the BJP that took Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led ruling NDA coalition to victory, surmounting anti-incumbency of 15 years in the state.