‘Baith jaiye’: Asked about PM face, here’s what happened between Nitish Kumar and KCR | Video
India Today
Bombarded by questions about being the PM face, Nitish Kumar was ready to walk off in a huff. He was stopped and coaxed to stay by KCR.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao met with Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar in Patna on Wednesday, sending political mills into overdrive. The camaraderie between the two leaders was on full display as they showered praise on one another and indulged in BJP bashing together.
However, an incident during their day-long meeting had Nitish Kumar ready to walk off in a huff, only to be stopped by KCR.
This happened when the two leaders were jointly addressing a press meet. Nitish Kumar was repeatedly bombarded with questions about whether he would be the Opposition’s PM face in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
When a reporter asked KCR whether he would back Nitish Kumar as the Opposition’s prime ministerial candidate, a seemingly irked Kumar stood up and got ready to leave. His aides also followed suit. KCR, who was responding to the query, happened to notice that the Bihar CM was about to depart and grabbed on to his hand.
What followed was a round of “baith jaiye” and “chaliye”, as KCR coaxed Nitish Kumar to stay and wrap up the press conference, while the latter, even as he laughed, remained adamant that they should leave.
In the end, Nitish Kumar and other Bihar leaders, including deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, remained standing on the dais, while KCR remained seated and answered questions put up by mediapersons.
On the question of Nitish Kumar being fielded as a potential challenger to Narendra Modi, KCR said, “Bade bhai (big brother) Nitish ji is one of the best and senior-most leaders in the country. I am nobody to take a decision. It will be decided when all opposition parties sit together”.
