Declare Nitish Kumar as PM face, demands JD(U) lawmaker

‘NDA is getting votes in the State due to CM’s work’

In the middle of the Lok Sabha election, a Janata Dal (United) lawmaker on Thursday said his party leader Nitish Kumar should be projected as the prime ministerial face “if the NDA wants to form the government at the Centre after May 23”.

Though JD(U) and BJP leaders have distanced themselves from the comment, the Opposition leaders are taking potshots over it.

The remaining two phases of the Lok Sabha poll will be held in Bihar on May 12 and May 19.

“The NDA will not be able to get a majority after May 23, and if it wants to form the government at the Centre, it must project Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the prime ministerial candidate,” JD(U) MLC Gulam Rasool Baliyavi told a private news channel. “The NDA is getting votes in the State due to the work of Mr. Kumar and not on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s face,” he added.

Prominent Muslin face

A prominent Muslim face in the ruling party, Mr. Baliyavi said it was only in the name of Mr. Kumar that 75% of Muslims would be ready to vote for the NDA. The BJP, he said, has been talking only about triple talaq, mandir and masjid but “on these issues the government cannot be formed…these are all religious issues and there should not be any interference. The JD(U) always keeps itself away from such issues”.

Earlier in February, JD(U) national vice-president and poll strategist Prashant Kishor had emphatically said that Mr. Modi would return as Prime Minister after the Lok Sabha poll and though Mr. Kumar has been a big leader in the NDA, it was unfair to view him as a claimant to the top post, even in the event of the BJP not getting a clear mandate.

‘His own opinion’

Meanwhile, the ruling NDA alliance leaders have distanced themselves from Mr. Baliyavi’s comment. “Everybody, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is working to make Mr. Modi the Prime Minister of the country again… if Mr. Baliyavi wants to go somewhere else he should make it clear. This statement is his own opinion and Mr. Kumar has nothing to do with it,” said State BJP leader and MLA Nitin Navin.