The BJP knows it very well that if Nitish Kumar really breaks his relationship with the saffron party and joins hands with the Congress-led UPA Sharad would be left high and dry as he is known for his anti-Congressism and hates the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.

But Sharad is known for his anti-communal and secular image too and can never join the BJP. On his own he is not a mass leader and used to win elections in Bihar either on the support of Lalu Yadav or Nitish Kumar. Yet Sharad has his own importance as a seasoned politician and strategist.

So the best way, in the eyes of some BJP leaders is to make him a candidate for the post of Vice President.

The move may force the Bihar chief minister to draw his own strategy. Unlike in the case of Pranab Mukherjee he has not yet made up his mind to support Hamid Ansari.

This is notwithstanding the fact that the Janata Dal (United) spokesman, Shivanand Tiwary, had last April made it clear that his party had no problem in supporting his name for the post of President. It needs to be recalled that in April the name of both Ansari and Pranab Mukherjee first emerged from the Congress party for the post of President. The Janata Dal (United) might then have the Muslim factor in mind in supporting Hamid Ansari.

If Nitish supports Hamid Ansari as Vice Presidential candidate he would be going against his own party chief, Sharad Yadav, who was rather compelled to back Pranab Mukherjee. This is in spite the fact that he had always been critical of his economic policies and has always been dead against the Congress. And if the Bihar chief minister supports Sharad he would be exposed as the one who voted with the BJP and that too against a Muslim candidate.