As five MLAs from Nitish Kumar's JD(U) joined the BJP in Manipur on Friday, the BJP rebuked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his 'speculated' intention to run for Prime Minister in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, news agency PTI reported.
The BJP's Amit Malviya described Nitish Kumar as a "lame duck chief minister," saying that his party's presence in Bihar and elsewhere is shrinking, yet he dreams of becoming prime minister.
Taking to Twitter, Malviya stated: "Mamata Banerjee’s attempts to gain acceptability beyond West Bengal, backfired miserably. Nitish Kumar, a lame duck Chief Minister, is seeing his party’s footprint shrink, not just in Bihar, where it is the third largest, but also outside."
Nitish Kumar abandoned his coalition with the NDA in Bihar and formed a new alliance with the RJD and the Congress to become the Mahagathbandhan government's chief minister.
The Grand Alliance's renewal sparked speculation that Nitish Kumar may be the combined opposition's PM face in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, though he brushed down the speculation.
In the midst of the ongoing BJP-JD(U) territorial battle, Kh Joykishan, N Sanate, Md Achab Uddin, former DGP L M Khaute, and Thangjam Arunkumar joined the BJP in Manipur. Khaute and Arunkumar had earlier attempted to run for assembly seats on BJP tickets but were refused by the party.
Nitish Kumar has been diverting concerns about his national aspirations since his return as chief minister of the Mahagathbandhan government.
However, leaders of the Bihar JD(U) are not dismissive of the prospects. Indeed, a poster posted outside the party headquarters in Patna ahead of the party's two-day national convention on Saturday and Sunday read, "Pradesh mein dikha, desh mein dikhega," insinuating that the nation will see Nitish Kumar's "good governance," suggesting that he is being groomed for a national role.