JDU president and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday nominated K.C. Tyagi, Pawan Varma and Haribansh as the party's national spokesmen.

The nomination indicates Nitish's stamp of authority on the national-level set up of the party because the newly nominated faces are believed to be "close and trusted" lieutenants of Nitish.

In the internal power dynamics, Tyagi was earlier a close aide to Nitish's predecessor Sharad Yadav. However, when Nitish was locked in the struggle to replace Jitan Ram Manjhi as the chief minister ahead of the Assembly polls, Tyagi was said to have shifted loyalty to Nitish and fell apart with erstwhile mentor Sharad.

None of Sharad's followers are on the list of the national spokesmen that Nitish handpicked on Monday.

Varma was the most visible face of the JDU in the run-up to the Assembly elections. He played the biggest role in drafting the party's policies and election manifesto. He strongly defended Nitish and his politics particularly on the English TV channels.

Haribansh is an acclaimed Hindi daily journalist and an articulate speaker. Tyagi - a resident of Uttar Pradesh - has played a key role in organising Nitish's nine meetings in election-bound Uttar Pradesh.