Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said he does not want anything personal from the Opposition's I.N.D.I.A alliance amid suspense over the bloc's Prime Ministerial candidate. The next meeting of the alliance is slated to be held in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1. Speaking to news agency ANI, Kumar said he wanted to unite everyone. His comments came after Bihar Minister Shravan Kumar earlier on Saturday said Nitish Kumar himself does not aspire to become the prime minister as his only target is to ensure that the I.N.D.I.A coalition forms the government after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Earlier in the day, talking to reporters, Bihar CM said, "I will be going...There is nothing personal that I want, I just want to unite everyone. I will be going & some more parties will be joining..."
However, Bihar Minister Shravan Kumar also said that people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are discussing that Nitish Kumar is a worthy candidate for the post of prime minister. Moreover, he added that no decision has been taken on whether Nitish Kumar will contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Phulpur constituency.
Commenting on Shravan Kumar's remarks, RJD MP Manoj Jha said, "CM (Nitish Kumar) has said on several occasions that he has no such intentions." He also said that the motive is to be part of an alliance that can give the country an alternative that is progressive.
Notably, talking to ANI, Jha also commented on AAP's Sandeep Pathak's statement that the party will contest elections in Bihar. In his response, Jha said, "When the foundation of the INDIA alliance was being laid down some principles were formed. There was a detailed talk held about these principles. Keeping aside this statement, I think they(AAP) will adhere to those principles."
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said some important decisions will be taken and announced in the Mumbai meeting of the INDIA alliance.