Janata Dal (United) on January 29 expelled its Vice-President, Prashant Kishor from the party, reports suggest.
According to reports, Pavan Kumar Varma, a senior leader from the party, was also expelled.
This comes days after both Kishor and Varma exchanged barbs with other senior JD(U) leaders, including Bihar Chief Minister and party chief Nitish Kumar, particularly over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Both Kishor and Varma had opposed the JD(U)'s stand on CAA.
Responding to the development, Kishor thanked Kumar on Twitter. "Thank you Nitish Kumar. My best wishes to you to retain the chair of Chief Minister of Bihar. God bless you," Kishor wrote.
On January 28, in his first direct attack on Kumar, Kishor, who had joined the party in September 2018 and was elevated to the rank of its National Vice President just weeks later, lashed out at Kumar for saying that he was inducted into the party at the instance of Union Home Minister and then BJP chief Amit Shah.
"@NitishKumar what a fall for you to lie about how and why you made me join JDU!! Poor attempt on your part to try and make my colour same as yours! And if you are telling the truth who would believe that you still have courage not to listen to someone recommended by @AmitShah?" Kishor had written on Twitter.
Kishor has been rankling the BJP for quite some time, questioning the JD(U)'s decision to support the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament and insisting that the party contest a significantly higher number of seats than the saffron party in the Legislative Assembly polls in Bihar due later this year.
Verma, meanwhile, had questioned the JD(U)'s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Delhi Assembly elections.
Verma had, on January 21, written a letter to Kumar, seeking ideological clarity and questioning the tie-up with the BJP. Kumar, on his part, had said that Varma was "free to go" wherever he liked.
