Bihar chief minister on Thursday attempted to what could be considered as dallying with his ex-ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while addressing a gathering at an event. Referring to BJP leaders, who were also invited to attend the event, the Bihar CM said ‘the friendship and relationship will remain for as long as I am alive’ – a rare praise for a party which he left twice citing political differences.

“All the people we have here are our friends. We are different, you are different. Does it mean our friendship will end? You will remain connected to me as long as I live. We will all work together,” Kumar said at the convocation ceremony of the Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Bihar's Motihari.

The remarks were made in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath and BJP MP Radha Mohan Singh. The BJP, however, refrained from responding to the JD(D) chief's statement.

"Nitish Kumar has left, we have asked him to leave. BJP clearly believes that we are together in development but there is a fight on principles. Amit Shah has said that he has no connection with Nitish Kumar," Bihar BJP chief Saket Choudhary told news agency ANI.

CM Kumar's ally, the RJD, also played down his comments and said that the Bihar chief minister was speaking of his personal relationships.

"Radha Mohan Singh (of BJP) was sitting in front, so he spoke about his personal relationship. There is no mention of any party. People interpreted him incorrectly," RJD's Shakti Yadav told ANI.

Notably, it was Nitish Kumar who spearheaded the opposition campaign to take on the Narendra Modi government in the next Lok Sabha election, which eventually turned into a coalition of Opposition parties and named INDIA.

(With inputs from agencies)