BJP leader Dinesh Sharma on Sunday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will not even be able to win a village pradhan election in Uttar Pradesh.

The former Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister, who was in Etah to attend the birth anniversary celebrations of party idol Deendayal Upadhyay, also attacked senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh for likening the RSS to the PFI.

Sharma's comments on Kumar came close on the heels of the JD(U) leader denying the possibility of contesting the 2024 general elections from Phulpur, even as the party's Uttar Pradesh unit remained hopeful that he would reconsider the decision to send a larger message of Opposition unity against the BJP.

Replying to a question on the JD(U) Uttar Pradesh unit asking Kumar to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Phulpur, the BJP leader said, "Nitish Kumar should first contest 'pradhani' elections (for post of village pradhan in UP). He will have to forfeit his deposits. Nitish Kumar has lost his 'aadhaar' (base) in Bihar, and if he is coming to Uttar Pradesh to search for his base, this dream of his is 'niraadhaar' (baseless)."

Dismissing speculation over his candidature in the Lok Sabha elections from the Phulpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh, Kumar said on September 20 that he was only interested in uniting opposition parties ahead of the parliamentary polls.

Asked by reporters about Digvijaya Singh's remark, Sharma said the Congress leader does not have the right "mental state".

"My sympathies are with Digvijaya Singh-ji, and the reason is that his mental state at this point of time is disorganised. And he is not facing mental disorder from today ... He does not know the meaning of 'rashtraprem' and 'rashtradroh'. RSS is an organisation of people who love the nation and are dedicated to the nation," he said.

"There can be no comparison between the RSS and the PFI," Sharma asserted, adding the PFI is a divisive organisation. "It divided the society and the country. A number of people who have been caught for making plans to spread terror have links with the PFI," he said.

Singh had on Saturday said action should be taken against those who spread hatred, violence and religious frenzy. Apparently referring to the PFI, he said, "If action is taken against them, then why no action has been taken against the Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad?"

Those who spread hatred or religious frenzy are the two sides of the same coin and complement each other, Singh had said.

Later, addressing a programme in Aligarh to mark the birth anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyay, Sharma said, "The principles of Deendayal-ji show the path during tough times. Today, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his dreams are being fulfilled and a 'mahaan Bharat' (great India) is being built."

"The sapling planted by Deendayal-ji has become a banyan tree in the form of the BJP. He used to say that the Jana Sangh was an organisation different from other political parties, and its first duty was to serve the nation," he added.