6 May : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ruled out the possibility of post-poll tie up with Congress and said L K Advani is the declared candidate of the NDA for the prime minister’s post.
"Yes, Yes. That is the case. How many times should I say this," he said in reply to questions whether his party JD(U) has decided not to align with the Congress after elections to form a government.
About Rahul Gandhi’s remarks praising him, the Chief Minister said "I can’t complain, I thank him. But to talk of political realignment or political future based on these remarks is a waste of time," he said.
He said L K Advani is the declared candidate of the NDA for the prime minister’s post and "nothing more than that".
"We don’t know anything beyond that. If BJP gets a majority of its own, then it is free to choose any one of its choice as Prime Minister," he told reporters at Patna on Wednesday.
In veiled remarks, the JD(U) leader also disapproved of BJP leaders backing Narendra Modi for prime minister ship saying once Advani’s name has been cleared there should be no debate on others.
To a question, Kumar said his party was not ideologically close to Congress. It was not a question of ideology as now it was an era of coalition, he added.
"We have a common programme. We are committed to a common programme which is called the agenda of governance," he said.