Since Jeenbekov took power, he has had a somewhat adversarial relationship with former President Atambayev, who strongly backed Jeenbekov against his opponent Ömürbek Babanov during the 2017 election, even referring to comparing himself as an “older brother” to Jeenbekov when referring to their relationship. Despite this, a rift grew between the two politicians as Atambayev became more involved in politics, eventually rising to the Chairmanship of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, of which Jeenbekov is a member of. While in this post, he criticized Jeenbekov for his handling many controversies and state emergencies, including the Bishkek power plant failure and his refusal to force his brother to resign from parliament. In early April 2018, Jeenbekov dismissed two high ranking officials in the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) who are considered to be close to Atambayev, which was seen as an apparent jab at Atambayev and his former government. Jeenbekov has on many occasions accused Atambayev of indirectly trying to influence his presidency, saying in November 2018 that he has attempted to turn him into "a puppet leader through some third individuals" Even with the accusations, he denies any type of rivalry with the former president, saying the following month that he "does not consider anyone a rival".