Neither claimant nor desirous for PM's post, time for united Opposition: Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said he is neither a claimant for the prime minister’s post nor desirous of it, his assertion coming amid speculation that his visit to the capital is to claim leadership of the Opposition parties.

It is time for the Left parties, Congress and all regional parties come together to form a united Opposition, Kumar told reporters after meeting CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury at the party office. The JD(U) leader, who severed his party’s ties with the BJP-led NDA last month, is scheduled to meet CPI general secretary D Raja later in the day.

“I have had a long association with the CPI(M) from my younger days. You all have not seen me, but whenever I used to come to Delhi, I used to come to this office. Today we are again all together. Our entire focus is to unite all Left parties, the regional parties, Congress. This will be a big deal if all of us come together,” he said.

Asked about his aspirations to be prime minister, Kumar said, “This is wrong. I am not a claimant for the post, nor am I desirous of it.”

According to Yechury, Kumar returning to the Opposition fold and his desire to be part of an fight against the BJP is a great signal for Indian politics.

“First, the agenda is to unite all parties, not to decide on the PM candidate. When the time comes we will decide the PM candidate and let you all know,” he said.

Kumar, who came here on Monday, met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Janata Dal (Secular) chief H D Kumaraswamy.

He is also likely to meet other Opposition leaders, including NCP’s Sharad Pawar, AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and INLD’s Om Prakash Chautala.