Nitish Kumar at the JD(U) national executive meet.
As it virtually rejected Narendra Modi, the Janata Dal (United) today indicated it would prefer BJP veteran LK Advani as the NDA's prime ministerial candidate.
"The NDA contested under the leadership of LK Advani earlier. I do not think there should be a problem for any NDA faction to go to polls with his leadership. Advani will definitely be more acceptable to most factions of the NDA," JD(U) leader Devesh Chandra Thakur said after the party's national executive meeting.
In its political resolution at the meet, the JD(U) has said the NDA's prime ministerial nominee should be someone like BJP veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee who can take everyone along.
Asked who else in the BJP is closer to Mr Vajpayee's personality or if the JD(U) favours Mr Advani, party spokesperson KC Tyagi said, "We have earlier also fought elections under the leadership of Advani. So how can we say that we were wrong?"
"Even the grandson of Sheikh Abdullah (Omar Abdullah) was a minister in the Vajpayee government. We want such a Prime Minister. Nobody is bigger than Vajpayee," Mr Tyagi said.
Another JD(U) leader Narendra Singh, who is a minister in Bihar, said Mr Modi ranks sixth or seventh in the BJP's hierarchy. "If seniority is taken into account, Modi is far below and Advani is no. 1," he said.
Making a strong case for declaring the NDA's prime ministerial candidate before the general elections next year, the JD(U) resolution says the BJP had announced Mr Vajpayee's name before the elections in 1999 and 2004 and that of LK Advani before 2009.