NEW DELHI/PATNA: A couple of days after Nitish Kumar dined with political strategist Prashant Kishor in Delhi, a buzz has been swirling around the corridors of power in the national capital as well as Bihar: Nitish is being considered as the opposition’s Presidential candidate.
However, Nitish on Tuesday ruled it out. “Is baat me dam nahi hai (It doesn’t carry substance),” he said in Patna.
The grapevine is that Prashant Kishor has started lobbying among key opposition parties for Nitish’s candidature.
Though Kishor has not responded, insiders say the speculation cannot be dismissed as “making castles in the air.”
At a rally in Purnia on November 6, 2020, Nitish had announced that it was his last assembly election campaigning. Many JD-U leaders suggest that “if his name is speculated for the presidential candidate from the opposition side, it should not be rejected so early.”
“I don’t know whether it is a speculation, but Nitish Kumar is the most able leader for this post,” said senior JD-U leader Shravan Kumar.
While Bihar Congress working president Sameer Singh said Nitish was a deserving candidate, RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwary said ‘‘the BJP would not let it happen.”
Deputy chief minister and senior BJP leader Tarkishor Prasad said there was no such vacancy in the near future.
Sources said if there is no consensus, then others such as K Chandrasekhar Rao or Sharad Pawar could be considered. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik told the media that Nitish could be considered if he snapped ties with the BJP.
There is another logic being cited in support of Nitish, which is if he were to be projected as the presidential candidate, the BJP would not oppose him openly.
“Nitish’s projection as presidential candidate could ultimately put an end to the prospect of him being declared as the PM candidate against Narendra Modi,” said Arun Pandey, a political analyst.