New Delhi, Apr. 13 (ANI): In what could be seen as a clear indication that the Janata Dal-United cannot accept Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the NDA”s Prime Ministerial candidate, a poster put up outside the venue of the party”s two-day national executive meeting presently underway in the national capital shows Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a potential candidate to take on Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh for the coveted throne in 2014.
The huge poster, which talks about the ”2nd Mahabharata War 2014”, shows two chariots with ”Arjun” Nitish Kumar and ”Sarathi” Sharad Yadav pitted against ”Arjun” Manmohan Singh and ”Sarathi” Sonia Gandhi. No BJP leader can be seen in any of the posters.
Today”s meeting is crucial amid speculation that the Janata Dal-United, which is an important ally in the NDA, may ask soon the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to name its Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
The Janata Dal-United, which appears to have made up its mind that it would accept only someone with a secular image, does not want to wait till the very end and wants the BJP to declare its leader for 2014 now.
The Bihar Chief Minister, a known critic of Modi who is touted by many to be the BJP”s Prime Ministerial candidate, is expected to meet BJP President Rajnath Singh later in the day. Kumar runs a coalition government with the BJP in Bihar.
The JD-U, which has 20 Lok Sabha MPs, is the second largest member of the NDA coalition after the BJP.
The BJP, which heads the NDA, had earlier this week said that a decision on the Prime Ministerial candidate would be decided jointly. (ANI)