Presidential election | Modi-Shah ace: Who can object to a Dalit rights crusader Ram Nath Kovind?

The suspense over the ruling National Democratic Alliance's candidate for the post of India's next President ended on Monday with the BJP throwing yet another surprise as it named Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as its choice.

The candidature of one of its Dalit leaders, underlining the party's commitment to reach out to marginalised sections, is likely to put in a spot the Opposition parties which will find it difficult to oppose him. With the NDA having an edge in the Electoral College, the BJP is confident of Kovind's smooth sailing to Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Kovind, 71, a lawyer by profession and two-term Rajya Sabha member, is from Derapur tehsil of Kanpur Dehat in Uttar Pradesh, the state which the BJP recently swept cutting across caste affiliations. While there were murmurs that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would choose a Dalit for the July 17 Presidential election, Kovind's name had skipped the ones being speculated.

BJP president Amit Shah announced the NDA candidate after a nearly two-hour meeting of the party's Parliamentary Board, which was attended by the PM. Shah said several candidates were considered. Shah said Modi had spoken to former PM Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi about the decision.

"They will discuss it and take a decision," he said. 

Kovind expressed hope that all parties will back his nomination. “I will appeal to them, I will meet them and take their blessings,” he said on his arrival from Patna. Asked if the Opposition will field a candidate against him, Kovind said: “I think I will have the support of every citizen of India.”

Both Modi and Shah described Kovind as a voice of the deprived sections. "I am sure Shri Ram Nath Kovind will make an exceptional President & continue to be a strong voice for the marginalised," Modi tweeted.

In another tweet, the PM also recalled Kovind's humble background as a farmer's son and said, "he devoted his life to public service and worked for poor and marginalised." Shah said Kovind has spoken out for Dalits and oppressed sections of society.

Kovind's election would make him the second Dalit President after KR Narayanan. However, Kovind, a Koli, would be the first from Hindi heartland. He belongs to the community, which constitutes around 15 per cent of the country's population. A BJP leader said that going in for a Dalit as its candidate at a time when the BJP had got an opportunity for the first time to name a person of its choice was a significant gesture.

In the BJP's calculations, its candidate had the requisite numbers in the Electoral College to make it to Rashtrapati Bhavan with President Pranab Mukherjee's term ending on July 24.

Outside the NDA, Kovind's candidature has got support from Telangana Rashtra Samiti and YSR Congress. Parties like Mayawati's BSP, Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and Lalu Prasad Yadav's RJD will find it difficult to reject the BJP's choice of a Dalit candidate.

According to government sources, four sets of nomination papers were being prepared for Kovind. Modi, Shah, Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu are expected to be the proposers.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, who was part of a three-member ministerial panel to talk to all parties on the Presidential election issue, said Kovind's nomination was based on inputs and suggestions from various opposition parties, besides allies of the NDA, and appealed to all parties to cooperate in his unanimous election.

"Today's decision on the candidature of Shri Kovind has factored in those views and suggestions. Shri Ram Nath Kovind is a veteran politician with grassroots experience and deep understanding of Indian society, besides being a senior lawyer with a thorough understanding of Indian State and the Constitution of India," Naidu said in a statement.

He said Kovind was fully conversant with issues of social justice and the role of the State within the framework of Constitution and farmers' issue. "In the past, Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was elected as President unanimously and there was an understanding among all the major parties in the election of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam as well," he said.

Non-controversial and with an untainted record, Kovind took over as Bihar Governor two years ago. Before that he was BJP's national spokesperson and had also headed the party's Scheduled Caste morcha from 1999 to 2002, when Modi was party general secretary (organisation).

After studying law from Kanpur University and working as the Central government's standing counsel in the Supreme Court from 1980 to 1993, he was elected to Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh for two consecutive terms from 1994 to 2006.

& Analysis

Most Oppn parties will find it difficult to oppose the BJP's Dalit nominee due to political equations. The likes of Maya already guarded in her response.
The move will also help the ruling BJP further reach out to Dalit communities — 15% of India's population — ahead of 2019.
The BJP only needs 2% votes more in the Electoral College to send Kovind to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Fence-sitters like TRS have already warmed up to the party.

India’s next president?

Born: October 1, 1945 (Age: 71 years)

Village: Paraunkh, UP

Profession: Advocate
A politician from Bharatiya Janata Party

1998-2002: 
President of BJP Dalit Morcha and President of All-India Koli Samaj

1994-2000 and 2000-2006:
Elected to Rajya Sabha from UP. Also served as national spokesperson of BJP

August 8, 2015: 
Appointed as the Governor of Bihar

Ram Nath Kovind was a lawyer who practised in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court for 16 years.
The Dalit leader first stepped into politics in 1994 when he was elected as a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh. He served for two consecutive terms for 12 years till March, 2006. 
During his parliamentary tenure, Kovind emphasised on development of basic infrastructure for education in rural areas and helped in the construction of school buildings in Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand under MPLAD scheme.