Nitish not in race for President post: JD(U) chief

Janata Dal (United) president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh on Saturday said that Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was not in race for the President’s post, putting at rest to speculation doing the rounds for some time.

Rumors about Kumar joining the presidential race, which had subsided a few months ago after he said he intended to remain in the state and serve its people, resurfaced after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced presidential polls earlier this week.

“All these talks of Nitish Kumar being in race for President’s post is wrong. The people of Bihar have given him mandate to rule the state till 2025. He is serving the state. Neither is he a candidate for the post of President nor is he going to become the President,” Singh told reporters at Lakhisarai on Saturday.

The speculation about Kumar’s candidature was triggered by one of his ministers, Shravan Kumar, who had said the Bihar chief minister had all the qualities that a presidential candidate should have. “If given an opportunity, he can become a President,” the minister had said.

However, soon after, senior JD(U) leaders and ministers dismissed the idea.