Oppn may consider Nitish for Prez if he snaps ties with NDA: NCP

Mumbai: The Nationalist Congress Party on Tuesday said that opposition parties may think about Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the post of President, provided his Janata Dal-U severs ties with the ruling NDA.

Referring to some media reports that Nitish Kumar could be the Opposition's candidate for the Presidential elections due mid-2022, NCP national spokesperson and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik made it clear that there can be no discussion on this until he breaks all ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

There have been certain speculative reports claiming Nitish Kumar may part ways with the BJP after the results of the ongoing elections to five states are declared next month and he could be in the race for the post of President.

"We can consider it (his candidature) only if the JD-U first breaks out of the NDA. Then the leaders of all Opposition parties will sit and collectively give a thought to it," Malik told media persons.

On the polls in the five states, he predicted that the BJP will be subjected to "a severe defeat" in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, and Goa.

"History will be repeated after 30 years in UP. It will win less than 150 seats. The people of the state had rejected BJP after it fomented communal violence there in 1993. People are now sick of its policies," asserted Malik.

He added that the process to launch a united 'anti-BJP' front has been initiated in the country and it will take a proper shape well before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"However, no such front can be formed without the Congress. The question of leadership will be taken up later at an appropriate time," Malik said, reiterating the clear stance of NCP and its ally, Shiv Sena, though some Opposition parties have expressed reservations.

In this context, he referred to the visit of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in December followed by Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao this week to Mumbai to meet the Maha Vikas Aghadi leadership and forge a united national Opposition front to counter the BJP.