The curious case of Nitish's presidential ambition

According to his friends and associates, Nitish Kumar does not utter his 'mann ki baat' himself but gets his party leaders to say it while denying it himself

With the announcement of the presidential election, a leader of the Janata Dal (United) in Bihar has backed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the post.

Bihar rural development minister Shravan Kumar said, "Nitish Kumar has all the qualities to become the president. He has the vision and qualities that make him suitable to occupy the highest position in the country." The minister also said, "If Nitish Kumar gets a chance, why would he back down."

The JD(U) is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) that the BJP leaders and the two parties run a coalition government in Bihar. However, for the last few months, JDU leaders have, on several occasions, stressed that their leader Nitish Kumar is the most qualified candidate for the post of president. However, Nitish Kumar has consistently said he is not interested.

But those who know Nitish Kumar aver that such statements by the JDU leaders may not be not spontaneous and, in fact, part of the Bihar CM's strategy to project his name for the Rashtrapati Bhavan. According to his friends and associates, Nitish Kumar does not say his 'mann ki baat' himself but gets his party leaders to say it while denying it himself.

So, it is possible that he wishes to contest the presidential election and is currently taking stock of the situation.

The possible candidature of Nitish Kumar for the presidential election by the opposition parties is also being linked to the old political feud between Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi.

Nitish Kumar-led JDU and BJP were allies in Bihar and ran a coalition government from 2005 onwards. However, in 2013, he broke ties with the BJP when the BJP declared Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In an interview with The Quint in 2015, senior journalist Sankarshan Thakur had said Nitish Kumar has a visceral animosity towards Narendra Modi."

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"Nitish Kumar harboured the political ambition to contest for the prime minister's post against Narendra Modi, which could not be fulfilled, so he wishes to contest for the president's post, but as a candidate of the opposition parties. This is because if he wins the election, it will be his big win against Modi," says senior Patna-based journalist Manikant Thakur.

For some time now, Nitish Kumar has said he is out of the race for the post of prime minister. But a strong argument in favour of giving credence to the statements by JDU leaders is the resolution the party leadership passed in its meeting in August last year. Nitish Kumar was present at the meeting, and he didn't oppose. The resolution unanimously passed declared Nitish Kumar a leader with all the qualifications for the post of prime minister.

Therefore, the statements of JDU leaders should not be seen in isolation from Nitish Kumar's own suppressed wishes. It could be that Nitish Kumar senses that the opposition parties are yet to reach a consensus on their stand regarding the presidential election, which is why he has rejected the speculation of his being a contender.

His last few months' activities also indicate that he will not fade out of politics anytime soon. In December last year, he started a samaj sudhaar or social reform journey and recently visited Nalanda and met the old leaders and workers of the party. Perhaps, he wants to make a big political bet before that. The presidential election could be that.

"He is not coming out in the open right now because he wants to see the stand of other opposition parties. If all opposition parties, except the BJP, come to a consensus on Nitish Kumar's candidature, he would want to contest the presidential election," says Thakur. However, if Nitish Kumar is seriously thinking about the presidential election, the road for him is tricky because the BJP is in a strong position, and the opposition camp is divided.

Political analyst Mahendra Suman says, "So many politicians keep making such statements to please their top leader. But even if the statement of the JDU leader was to be taken seriously, Nitish Kumar's chances are slim. The BJP has 48 per cent of votes in the electoral college and will easily arrange for the remaining two per cent votes."

"Secondly, there is a lot of difference of opinion within the opposition parties. Regional parties are angry with the Congress. The Left has a tussle with the Trinamool Congress. Other regional parties, too, have differences. I do not think all parties will come on one platform and support Nitish Kumar in such a situation. And thirdly, Nitish Kumar has not been such a reliable leader that other parties can easily trust him," he said.

(Umesh Kumar Ray is a Patna-based independent journalist)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.