The demand for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to contest from UP’s Phulpur parliamentary seat in 2024 Lok Sabha polls is gaining momentum. The Kurmi (Patel)dominated constituency was in the past represented by illustrious former prime ministers, Jawahar Lal Nehru and Vishwanath Pratap Singh.

Not only Phulpur, JD(U) party workers want CM Nitish to fight from any of the three constituencies in UP, including Pratapgarh, Fatehpur and Ambedkar Nagar from UP in the Lok Sabha polls. All these constituencies boast of a large population of Kurmi/ Patel communities to which the JDU chief belongs.

Nitish Kumar will be contesting parliamentary elections after 19 years. He had contested his last Lok Sabha polls in 2004 from Nalanda. He did not contest Bihar assembly elections after 1985. He has been a member of the Legislative Council (upper house) since 2006 and preferred to remain on till date.

The chief minister’s close aide and cabinet colleague Shravan Kumar disclosed to the media that UP JDU workers wish to request the Bihar CM to contest from a seat of his in UP.

Shravan Kumar, who is also party in-charge of UP, said: “If Prime Minister Narendra Modi can leave Gujarat to contest from Varanasi seat, why not Nitish Kumar ji.”

On his return from UP, Kumar, who is rural development minister of the state, said JDU workers in UP are also keen to personally meet the Bihar CM in this regard.

He had also visited some of parliamentary constituencies of UP to take stock of the situation on the ground. “Nitishji has an international image. His acceptability as a promising leader has grown manifold. Now, it is up to Nitishji to decide”, he told the reporters.

According to JDU sources, a delegation of party workers would soon meet national JDU president Rajiv Ranjan Singh and submit a memorandum in this regard. They will also seek an appointment with the Bihar CM.

Some more ministers, including energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Mahendra Sahni, also wished the same for Nitish Kumar. They said he has played a very crucial role in uniting the Opposition against BJP ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

But the BJP, the main Opposition party in Bihar, is busy mocking Nitish Kumar over his party’s wish to see him fight from UP. State BJP chief Samrat Chaudhary sarcastically said it’s good that he is thinking of fighting elections outside Bihar because he has no scope left in Bihar now.

Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly Vijay K Sinha dared the CM to fight from Patna Sahib parliamentary seat. “He will be defeated by a margin of more than one lakh votes,” he told reporters.

The JDU has already started gearing up for forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Party workers have decided to camp in villages from August 15 to 31. During this period, they will camp in village panchayats, and at district-level blocks to highlight the work done by the Nitish Government.