Nitish Kumar, Opposition Candidate For PM? What A Key Party Says

Nitish Kumar's JD(U) currently shares power with the BJP in Bihar.

Maharashtra minister and NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik on Tuesday said any decision on the opposition's candidate for the post of the country's next President will be taken collectively by leaders of various parties, and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's name could be considered only if his party JD(U) snaps ties with the BJP.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Malik claimed the BJP will suffer a drubbing in five poll-bound states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur - and that the saffron party will get less than 150 seats in the 403-member UP Assembly.

He further said process has been initiated to form an anti-BJP front at the national level before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, referring to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the latter's West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee meeting top Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders here in the recent past.

The front will be created under the collective leadership of opposition parties, he said, adding that such a front cannot be formed minus the Congress.