Making his ambitions clear for the first time, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday claimed that he was far more competent for the post of prime minister than BJP nominee Narendra Modi.
Maintaining that people who have grabbed media attention would not be able to become prime minister, Nitish said a dark horse may emerge a front-runner.
The JD-U chief said this at Bettiah, where it was also announced that noted filmmaker Prakash Jha would be the party nominee from West Champaran.
Taking a potshot at Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar questioned why he could not be prime minister if a man who does not have any experience in Parliament (Modi) can vie for the post.
“I have more than two decades of experience as Union Minister at the Centre as well as running the state. That way, I am more competent than any of the names being floated for prime ministership,” said Nitish.
Notably, Nitish became Union minister for the first time in V P Singh’s regime in December 1989.
This was followed by his second stint at the Centre, where he served in the Vajpayee cabinet as minister for Agriculture, Roads and Surface Transport. He also served as Railways minister between 1998 and 2004.
Nitish Kumar has been the chief minister of Bihar since 2005.
When the BJP dismissed Nitish’s statements as “daydreams” citing a meagre strength of Lok Sabha MPs, the JD-U leader insisted that the Third Front, which he had stitched along with regional satraps, would play a decisive role after the counting of votes on May 16.
“Post-election, Third Front will become the first front,” Nitish said.
Taking another dig at his erstwhile ally, Nitish wondered why the party was forced to forgo 12 seats for outsiders, leaving them with only 28 seats, if there was a genuine BJP wave.
“The next prime minister should be one who is able, capable and acceptable. He should take along all the sections of the society and focus on inclusive growth,” Nitish said.
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