Prospect of being PM does not let him sleep, says Narendra Modi about Nitish Kumar

Purnea: Narendra Modi, the BJP's candidate for Prime Minister, was frank in his opinion today of Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar. "The prospect of prime ministership does not let him sleep.  He has such a high opinion of himself; he feels he is more qualified," said Mr Modi at a rally in Mr Kumar's state. He also predicted that his will not be the last word in this dispute. "The arrogance of some people is very high. So anything you say on their turf, till they reply they don't feel at peace."

A few months ago, Mr Kumar ended a 17-year alliance with the BJP over its decision to place Mr Modi in charge of its national campaign. Last week, the Bihar Chief Minister told NDTV in a headline-making interview that his credentials are stronger than  those of Mr Modi, who is being forecast by opinion polls as the front-runner for the country's top job. (Watch)

"The people who are roaming around today as candidates for PM, do they have any experience like me? People who aspire to lead parliament, do they have any experience in parliament?" Mr Kumar asked.

Mr Modi has never contested a parliamentary election; he is a member of the Gujarat legislature.

Mr Kumar, 63, has repeatedly said he has no interest in running for prime minister, and that he is committed to his work in Bihar, where he is now in his second term.

Like other detractors of Mr Modi, the Bihar Chief Minister says the BJP leader did not do enough to stop the Gujarat riots of 2002, in which over a thousand people were killed, most of them Muslims. A Supreme Court inquiry has said there is no evidence of those charges.

Mr Kumar's critics point out that when the riots took place, he was a cabinet minister and registered no protest. "I was in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet in 2002, not in the Gujarat chief minister's cabinet... so why should I have resigned?" he said to NDTV last week.