Patna: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar walking out from the NDA alliance has triggered a fresh debate for the 2024 poll as far as the Prime Ministerial candidate is concerned. Bihar JD(U) leaders have already started padding up for Nitish, who can challenge PM Narendra Modi in the next general elections. The day Nitish left NDA, JD(U) Parliamentary Board chairman Upendra Kushwah came up with a tweet, which tells the entire story.
“Congratulation to Nitishji for the accountability of leadership of the new alliance in the form. Nitishji, go ahead, the country is waiting for you,” Kushwaha posted a tweet from his official Twitter handle on August 9, 2022. Though Nitish Kumar is not expressing much on the topic of PM candidates, but has given enough hints for the unity of opposition in days to come.
On the day of Raksha Bandhan when journalists asked him about being a PM face in 2024, Nitish with folded hands and a smile on his face said, “I have no desire to become the PM. I would request you, people, not to indulge me in such a topic. I am happy doing my work here. However, we will all work together to make the opposition stronger. I will also work for the unity of the opposition in the country.”
Also Read: Can Nitish do it for Bihar?
The way Nitish had taken a jibe at the PM is another example of Nitish inching closer to the 2024 PM's candidature. “Those who came in power in 2014, will they secure victory in 2024? I would like all opposition to be united in 2024,” Nitish had said soon after taking oath for the eighth time as the chief minister of Bihar. "I have been receiving calls from other leaders as well on this front," he said.
The situation has arisen of a new PM face due to a few major political developments in the country. JD(U) is the third alliance partner of the BJP, which has walked out of NDA after the Akali Dal in Punjab and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Bihar plays a pivotal role in the general elections as it has a good number of Lok Sabha seats in the state. In the 2019 Lok Sabha poll, the NDA alliance, which has JDU, BJP and LJP won 39 seats out of 40. However, after walking out of the alliance, there is a possibility that the number won't be the same in 2024.
Even the political analyst opined that Nitish could emerge as the PM face because there are hardly any leaders, who have appeal and acceptability pan India. “Though Congress is the natural opposition party in the country, none of their leaders has the charisma and acceptability among the leaders of other states. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra are tried and tested, but they don't have that much of an aura. However, Nitish could emerge as the new face of the opposition at the national level if an honest attempt is made by all the opposition parties. However, it is also important that leaders like Mamta Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, KCR and Arvind Kejriwal should come under one umbrella,” Dr Sanjay said.
He further said, “Narendra Modi will complete 10 years in power in 2024 and by that time you never know that even the anti-incumbency factor could arise. Like Naveen Patnaik of Odisha, Nitish Kumar is another CM, who carries a clean image and no direct corruption charges have been found till now while serving a top post in the state. Nitish has the plus point of providing development and striving for women's empowerment. So, one should not be surprised if he becomes the face of opposition in 2024 to counter Modi. If you leave aside his turncoat nature, which has created the narrative of trust deficit, there is no other taint in Nitish.”
If all the opposition parties get united, a formidable alliance could be formed to stop the juggernaut of PM Modi in the 2024 general elections, Dr Sanjay added. When asked about Nitish becoming the PM face in 2024, poll strategist Prashant Kishor told ETV Bharat, “These are speculations from the media. Who can become PM and who cannot, only people can decide? I believe that whatever political development, which has taken place in Bihar is just state-specific and it has no connection with the national politics at least in the short run.”
BJP spokesperson Binod Sharma on the other hand said that out of eight, Nitish became CM with the help of the BJP five times. “In 2014, when he contested the elections alone, JD(U) won just two seats. There is no chance of disturbing the BJP at all. No leader of the other states will ever accept him as the PM candidate,” Sharma asserted.
Ravi Upadhayay, another political analyst, said that it won't be an easy task for Nitish to challenge PM Modi. He has emerged as the strongest PM in the country. Nitish led by Grand Alliance can challenge NDA in Bihar but at the national level, it is only possible if Congress accepts Nitish as the face of the PM candidate," he said.
