A day after nominating Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as NDA candidate for Presidential elections, the ruling BJP was leaving no stone unturned to consolidate support of political parties to ensure his smooth sailing to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In Lucknow, on the eve of International Yoga Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a dinner hosted by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, which was attended by SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.
In the Capital, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu called up Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy and requested him to attend filing of nomination by Kovind.
He also reached out to more parties seeking their support. He spoke to former PM and JD-S leader Deve Gowda, DMK leader MK Stalin, PMK leader Anbumani Ramdoss, PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti. He met Om Prakash Chautala of INLD, who responded positively, sources said.
Meanwhile, Kovind resigned as Bihar Governor. President Pranab Mukherjee accepted his resignation and handed over responsibilities of Patna Raj Bhawan to West Bengal Governor Kesri Nath Tripathi, in addition to his own duties.
Gowda said his party will take a decision after his son and JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy returns from his tour. Stalin and Ramadoss also assured him that they will discuss supporting Kovind with leaders of their parties. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti extended support of her party PDP to the NDA nominee. Naidu spoke to CMs of BJP-ruled states and of allied parties, requesting them to make it convenient to be present at the time of filing of nomination on June 23. He also thanked BJD leader and Odisha CM Navin Patnaik for supporting Kovind.
In Patna, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has called a meeting of JD-U leaders to discuss the party's stand on Kovind. Though Nitish has expressed happiness over the NDA's choice, he was yet to formally spell out his support for him, in the July 17 election.
Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad said this was not the first time that a person belonging to the Scheduled Caste has been nominated for the post of President, referring to Congress making KR Narayanan the President in 1997.
He said it would have been better if the ruling party nominated someone neutral rather than a hardcore BJP leader.
"We were expecting the BJP to announce the name of a neutral person. Like during the regime of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, we supported APJ Abdul Kalam, not because he belonged to a minority community, but because he was neutral and didn't belong to any particular party," he said.
The Opposition, which was considering a tribal as its Presidential candidate, is now trying to find a suitable Dalit face like Meira Kumar or Sushil Kumar Shinde, with the BJP putting up Kovind, a Dalit. Opposition parties are meeting on Thursday to finalise its candidate.
Meanwhile, the elite National Security Guard (NSG) took over security of NDA's presidential nominee Kovind, following intelligence alerts warning threat to his life. Security of Bihar Bhawan where he's staying was also taken over by the Delhi Armed Police. Kovind will enjoy the stepped up security cover until he is chosen President, after which the President's bodyguards will take over the charge.
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 "Ram Nath Kovind")
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