Will Nitish Kumar become the Prime Ministerial Candidate?

Parliamentary elections are going to be held in 2024. Undoubtedly the current Prime MinisterModi is re-entering the fray as the prime ministerial candidate on behalf of the then ruling BJPalliance. However the question of whether Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will be nominated\as the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition parties contesting against him is gaining importance. 

Nitish Kumar was a member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance until last August. He was the Chief Minister of Bihar from that alliance and changed the alliance while retaining the post of Chief Minister. BJP, which was the ruling party in Bihar, has now lost power and become the opposition party due to Nitish Kumar's action. All the anti-BJP parties have united in Bihar.

Nitish Kumar asserts that if this Bihar model is extended to the national level, i.e. if all the parties opposing the BJP are united, the BJP from coming back to power can be prevented. It may not a matter of coincidence that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress President Sarath Pawar, Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Karnataka Chief Minister  H.D. Kumaraswamy, CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, National Lok Dal Party President Om Prakash Chaudala, and Rashtriya Janata Dal Senior Leader Sharad Yadav have met with him in Delhi.  

Seventy one year old Nitish Kumar is currently the Chief Minister of Bihar for the 8th term.He was a two-time Union Minister in the  Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led cabinet. A nationally well-known leader, Nitish Kumar is back in the limelight in national politics. Although he met various political leaders, the purpose of his meeting was not the post of Prime Minister; he keeps saying that only to unite the opposition parties.

However, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal President Tejashwi Yadav has said that he is the most likely leader to be fielded as the prime ministerial candidate. Sarath Yadav says there is no better choice for Prime Ministerial candidate than Nitish Kumar.

Telangana Chief Minister Chandrasekhara Rao, who has been welcoming Nitish Kumar's efforts to unite opposition parties, recently visited Patna to express his support in person. Nitish Kumar, who has good support with many opposition leaders, is seen as the right personality to unify the opposition parties. However, whether he will be widely accepted as the general prime ministerial candidate of the opposition parties is a big question mark.

Especially, whether Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal etc will accept it is difficult to predict right now. Will Nitish Kumar, who has a long experience in politics, come to that leadership position? Let's wait and see!