PREZ PREDICTOR

In 2012, Nitish Kumar—despite being an NDA ally—had supported UPA’s presidential nominee, Pranab Mukherjee. Again, in 2017, now in alliance with RJD and Congress, Nitish supported NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind. Both the men he backed became India’s first citizens. Now, all eyes are trained on the Bihar CM before the presidential polls scheduled in July. On May 5, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan flew into Patna to have an hour-long confab with Nitish, again underlining how eager the BJP is to secure Nitish’s vote.