Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has again targeted Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra, albeit indirectly so, by urging the National Democratic Alliance to declare its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Kumar's Janata Dal – United is a major ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party led-NDA.
Kumar is no fan of Modi, who is widely believed to be the BJP's PM candidate for the next Parliamentary polls.
Last week, Kumar told his party members that he will only support a secular candidate for the PM's post. This comment was seen as an attack against Modi, who has battled accusations about his alleged complicity in the Gujarat communal riots in 2002.
Reportage: M I Khan in Patna
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Narendra Modi as PM? NOT if Nitish has his way
"The NDA should declare its candidate in advance. This leader should be acceptable to every constituent of the alliance. The leader of the coalition should have secular credentials. It should be someone who has absolute faith in democratic values. In a multi-religious and multi-lingual country like ours, the leader should not have rough edges in his personality. An alliance can win the confidence of the people only if the leader is seen as accommodating," Kumar said in an interview on Tuesday.
Kumar pointed out that the NDA had projected a prime ministerial candidate in every election since 1996. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the NDA's prime ministerial nominee in 1996 and 1998.
The alliance projected Vajpayee again in the Lok Sabha polls in 1999 and 2004, while L K Advani was the PM candidate for the 2009 election.
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Narendra Modi as PM? NOT if Nitish has his way
"The NDA will have to declare its nominee. The electorate should know who they are voting for and who will lead the country. The NDA should have a leader who can feel for underdeveloped states like Bihar. It should not be someone who can develop developed states," Kumar said.
The Bihar CM made it clear again that he was not in the race for the PM's post.
Earlier this month, Kumar had politely told Modi to mind his own business after the latter stated at a public meeting in Rajkot that Bihar was way behind other states, chiefly because of caste politics.
Nitish had advised Modi to think about his own state instead of worrying about Bihar's backwardness.
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