This refers to the report, “Nitish favours grand alliance on national level; asks Cong, left to take lead” (April 4). Whenever there is talk of a grand alliance against the BJP, the question that arises is: Who will lead such an allianceIJ All top leaders in the grand alliance have their egos and ambitions and none of them, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is such a dominant entity who may be acceptable to all as their leader.
In Bihar, it was do-or-die compulsion for the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress, which brought them under the Nitish Kumar umbrella. That is never the case at the national level. Nitish Kumar is an honest and no-nonsense leader who means business. He was a partner in the BJP-led NDA for 17 years, where he enjoyed a respectable position as a Union Minister and then as Chief Minister of Bihar. He parted ways with the NDA in 2013. In the changed circumstances, it is time for him to consider returning to the NDA fold and contribute in the process of nation-building.