Presidential polls: NDA stands united on Ram Nath Kovind as cracks appear in Opposition over nominee

The National Democratic Alliance stands united and is ready for a show of strength on the occasion of the nomination filing of its Presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind.

Updated: June 22, 2017 4:38 PM IST

By Pragati Ratti Sharma

PM Modi greets Ram Nath Kovind
PM Modi greets President Ram Nath Kovind (File photo)

New Delhi, June 22: The National Democratic Alliance stands united and is ready for a show of strength on the occasion of the nomination filing of its Presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind. On the other hand, the Opposition seems to be crumbling with cracks within as different parties express their support for the NDA Presidential nominee.

NDA’s show of strength

According to reports, 20 chief ministers of Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states will be present in Delhi on Friday for Kovind’s nomination filing. Meanwhile, the BJP allies will also be present during the nomination filing.

The BJP announced Ram Nath Kovind, who has now resigned as Bihar Governor, as the NDA’s Presidential nominee earlier this week. While it faced reservations from its ally Shiv Sena, the party later managed to garner support from the Uddhav Thackeray-led party. Within a couple of days the NDA Presidential nominee, a Dalit leader, got suuport from some Opposition parties as well including the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal United and the AIADMK as well. Soon after, O Panneerselvam also announced support for Kovind and will be present in the national capital for his nomination tomorrow.

Cracks in Opposition

While the NDA stands united, the Opposition is breaking apart over the Presidential nominee. While JDU had already announced support for Kovind, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP is also reportedly mulling going with NDA’s Presidential candidate. Hectic parleys are on ahead of the Opposition meeting this evening to decide the UPA Presidential nominee. Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel visited Sharad Pawar to ensure he supports the UPA nominee. It is yet to be seen as to who the NCP goes for.

Meanwhile, reports say the Congress-led Opposition may announce former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, also a Dalit leader, as its Presidential nominee. (Also Read: Why Congress may go for Meira Kumar) However, on the other hand, the Left seems to be going a different way. “Our first choice for Presidential candidate is Gopal Krishna Gandhi, otherwise Prakash Ambedkar. We’ll discuss in Opposition party meeting,” said CPM leader Sitaram Yechury.

The Opposition meeting on Presidential candidate is set to begin shortly. It will be interesting to see who the UPA fields as a face to counter Ram Nath Kovind even as the numbers seem to suggest Kovind can comfortably make it to the Rashtrapati Bhawan as Pranab Mukherjee’s successor.

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