Nitish Kumar

Patna, Feb. 17: Chief minister Nitish Kumar has taken pains to deny that he harbours prime ministerial ambitions, but has provided fodder for speculation by his increased proclivity to speak on national issues.

Unlike his previous term in office when he was more focused on attacking the RJD, Nitish, since his thumping electoral victory last year, has consistently attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress on a motley of issues ranging from neglecting Bihar to the slew of corruption charges dogging the Centre.

Today also, Nitish raked up the issue of corruption, a day after “advising” the Prime Minister to go back to the electorate instead of compromising with allies on ethical matters.

“The next general election will be fought on the issue of corruption,” the chief minister said at a function sponsored by the information technology department to create awareness about e-governance among MLAs.

Nitish’s political statement on corruption at a non-political event added fuel to the speculation that he is readying himself for the country’s top job when the next Lok Sabha elections are due.

The chief minister has steadfastly denied harbouring any such ambition. In an exclusive interview to The Telegraph recently, he stated, “I am focused on Bihar. I am working hard to make Bihar a developed state by 2015. I have no time to think beyond Bihar as of now.”

But there has been a significant shift in Nitish’s stance in the last few months. In his first term, Nitish barely spoke on national issues or criticised the Prime Minister or even the central ministers other than his Bihar rivals, Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan.

Nitish instead spoke more about the special package for re-building the flood-ravaged Kosi region, special category status for Bihar, improving the state’s law and order besides resources for building roads, schools and hospitals.

It is not that he has demitted these issues. But he appears to have expanded their ambit by talking more of the Congress threat to the “federal structure” of the country.

What has added to the speculation is also the increased praise showered on him by several BJP senior leaders. This, sources said, is an indication that the BJP could be testing the ground for projecting Nitish as an acceptable NDA leader come 2014.