Patna, Jun 3 (IANS): Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) chief Babu Lal Marandi said on Friday that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is the most suitable face as the prime ministerial candidate and he can defeat the BJP in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Marandi arrived here on a visit and is set to meet Nitish Kumar on Friday to discuss issues related to development of bordering areas in Jharkhand close to Bihar.

"All regional and secular-democratic parties have to unite across the country to ensure defeat of the BJP," Marandi told the media here.

Marandi's statement came a day after Janata Dal-United (JD-U) general secretary K.C. Tyagi made it clear that Nitish Kumar has no prime ministerial ambitions and is only working to unite like-minded parties to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) .

"The party has never projected Nitish Kumar as the prime ministerial candidate so far," Tyagi said.

According to JD-U leaders, Marandi is likely to join hands with Nitish Kumar in Jharkhand.