- Sharad Pawar’s NCP has come out in support of Nitish Kumar’s dream of becoming President
- Nitish Kumar’s meeting with Prashant Kishore has added fuel to the fire
- After failing to secure a place in the hear of people of Bihar, Nitish wants a respectable exit from public life
After failing to achieve his dream of becoming India’s PM, Nitish Kumar seems to have decided to become President of India. Moreover, he is not asking BJP for support, instead, he is flocking towards opposition parties like NCP to realise his dream.
Nawab Malik supports Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumar seems to be galvanising political parties to support his candidature for president. Nawab Malik, a tainted but powerful spokesperson of Sharad Pawar’s NCP has given his assent to Nitish Kumar’s candidature. He confirmed that there are news reports of Nitish Kumar being the opposition’s candidate for the next presidential election.
However, asserting that Nitish needs to break his ties with the BJP if he wants to be taken seriously for the post, Nawab said, “There cannot be a discussion on this until he (Nitish Kumar) breaks ties with the BJP. First, he should snap ties with the BJP and only then thought can be given (to his candidature). Leaders of all (opposition) parties will then sit together and think about it,”
Prashant Kishore may play the role of Senapati
Meanwhile, another development that has increased the chances of Nitish being opposition’s candidate is his meeting with former ally Prashant Kishore. On 19th February 2022, Nitish met poll strategist Kishore. The meeting continued for more than two hours. Kishore and Nitish were once hands in gloves in Bihar until Kishore was expelled from Nitish’s JDU.
Kishore is in close contact with almost every leader in the opposition faction of national politics. They include Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar, K Chandrashekhar Rao, MK Stalin and Mamata Banerjee. If Nitish Kumar has finally decided to fight for the President’s post, then Prashant Kishore is expected to be the man unifying the opposition in favour of Nitish Kumar.
Read more: Prashant Kishor proves again why he is the worst political analyst around
Bihari Politicians do not seem to agree
While Nitish may be busy asking for support, politicians from his own state do not seem to have a consensus about him. Tej Pratap Yadav, a key RJD leader asked how could a murder accused hold the highest Constitutional post in the country. Chirag Paswan, another young leader was critical of Nitish Kumar. He alleged that Nitish Kumar has abandoned the people of Bihar and only thinks about his own gains.
नई कुर्सी की सुगबुगाहट को खारिज नहीं किये सुशासन बाबू। विपक्ष का चेहरा बनने की दिली ख्वाहिश पूरी हो रही है। अपने लिए एक के बाद एक पद का इंतजाम करने को आदत बना चुके हैं नीतीश जी।
कर बिहार के युवाओं की दुर्गति;नीतीश जी बनने चले राष्ट्रपति।— युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) February 22, 2022
On the other hand, Nitish has decided to not reveal his intentions in public. When he was questioned about the rumours making round regarding his candidature, Nitish replied, “I have no idea like that in my mind.”
Nitish Kumar-A player who built his reputation on other’s failures
Nitish was once a remarkable figure in national politics. He has handled central ministries like Railways, Agriculture and Transport in the past. When Lalu was ousted from Bihar’s throne, Nitish emerged as his ultimate replacement. Because Lalu had done so much damage to the state, anyone faring even 1 per cent better than him would be treated as a messiah by people of Bihar. That’s where Nitish got his fame. His populist schemes in Bihar made national headlines and slowly he cultivated an image of Vikash Purush for himself.
However, when it came to do something on his own, Nitish Kumar’s faultlines started to appear. It turned out that other than omitting Lalu’s imprint from polity of Bihar, Nitish Kumar never had any broad future goals for state. However, his ambitions kept growing and he was harboring Prime Minister ambition in 2014. After failing to beat PM Modi’s acceptance, Nitish withdrew from NDA and formed a government with Lalu Prasad Yadav in state.
Nitish looking for retirement post
However, this too turned out to be disastrous for Nitish. His carefully crafted image of ‘Vikash Purush’ started to turn into ‘Vinash purush’, in the wake of declining Law and Order in Bihar. To reduce crime rate, Nitish Kumar decided to ban Alcohol in state. However, this too turned out to be counter-productive and currently, he risks losing BJP’s support from state politics. Read about 4 possible replacements for Nitish in Bihar.
Read more: One of these 4 should be groomed by the BJP if they are serious about removing Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumar is looking for a respectable departure from politics. In India, there are only two ways for a politician to retire with dignity. One is by becoming a governor and slowly receding away from public space, while another one is by becoming a President and enjoying some more years of controversy-free life before finally hanging boots. Nitish Kumar seems to have zeroed down on second. But chances are slimmer than ever.
