The Janata Dal United (JDU) lost its face in Delhi on Sunday as its senior leader K.C. Tyagi resigned from the position of its national spokesperson.

He will continue as the political advisor of party president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.

A statement issued by JDU national general secretary Afaque Ahmad Khan said: “Nitish Kumar has appointed Rajiv Ranjan Prasad as the national spokesperson. K.C. Tyagi has resigned from the position of party’s spokesperson due to personal reasons.”

The resignation came amid Tyagi falling into the crosshairs of the party leadership due to his statements in the media on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, lateral entry in government service through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Israel-Palestine conflict, sub-classification among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and identifying creamy layer among them.

The move is being seen as damage control by the JDU as several statements of Tyagi had not gone down well with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership.

A senior leader in the JDU said that Tyagi’s statements “did not suitably convey the party’s stand on the important issues and gave an impression that there were differences with the BJP over them”.

JDU’s executive president and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Jha and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lalan Singh had met Tyagi recently over the confusion arising out of his statements. Sources said that they had suggested he put in his papers.

After the announcement of his resignation, Tyagi asserted that he would remain with the party because Nitish was a socialist.

“I will stay as a political advisor in the party. Nitish Kumar can call me whenever he wants to. Our relationship dates back to several decades. I will always respect him,” he said.

Tyagi added that he was now 75 and the age was “becoming a hurdle in staying amid television channels and the press. This is the reason that I quit as the spokesperson.”

Tyagi, a suave and easily approachable person for journalists, had previously quit from the position of the national spokesperson in 2021 when RCP Singh was the JDU president.

However, he was reinstated by Nitish later that year after the party noticed that its views were not being suitably represented at the national level.