Nitish Kumar has decided to back BJP's Ram Nath Kovind for President, say his party's leaders
Highlights
- Left, Congress want to force election for President
- Nitish Kumar backs government's choice
- BJP's choice, Ram Nath Kovind, was Bihar Governor, is a Dalit
and back Ram Nath Kovind for President, top leaders of his party said today.
"The JDU will support NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind and skip the opposition meet on presidential poll tomorrow," Janata Dal United spokesperson KC Tyagi said this evening, according to news agency PTI.
The Chief Minister's decision that JDU will not support the opposition if it puts up its own contender, is one that Mr Kumar reportedly conveyed on Monday to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and partner Lalu Yadav after the BJP declared Mr Kovind as its nominee.
"It is for the first time that the Governor of Bihar has been chosen for the post of President. We are all supporting him, the Chief Minister is supporting him...it's good for Bihar," said Ratnesh Sada, a leader from Mr Kumar's Janata Dal United or JD(U).
Mr Kovind, 71, who is a Dalit, was Governor of Bihar till the BJP chose him as its surprise nominee for President. Chief Minister Kumar has praised Mr Kovind substantially for serving as an impartial Governor.
By supporting Mr Kovind for President, Mr Kumar will break ranks with a 17-member bloc of the opposition that he had helped collate and which is scheduled to meet tomorrow at a session chaired by Mrs Gandhi.
The BJP and its allies, with the support of regional parties, have about 60 per cent of the vote, but the Congress is keen on an election; so is the Left, which has said the contest will reflect a "battle of ideologies."
An election, if necessary, will be held on July 17, a week before the term of President Pranab Mukherjee ends.
In 2012, Mr Kumar broke with the national alliance led by the BJP that he was then a part of to support Mr Mukherjee, who was the government's candidate, rather than the opposition's contender, PA Sangma.
The opposition had intended to use the election for President this year to demonstrate a new and growing unity, one that could challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the general election in 2019. But after Mr Kovind was named, leaders like Mayawati, who are essential for a united anti-BJP front, have indicated that it's tough to oppose a Dalit candidate and risk alienating the politically vital community and lower castes.
As a counter, the Left has suggested two Dalit options, both from the Congress - former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar and former union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. But it is for their party to act on the proposal, said D Raja of the CPI yesterday.
Mr Kumar governs Bihar in partnership with Lalu Yadav and the Congress. With his children, two of whom are Bihar ministers, named in corruption cases by tax officials, Lalu is reportedly determined to not be seen on the same side as the centre and is lobbying hard for an election, said sources.
The Congress is keen on a contest as it tries to signal its relevance despite its huge losses in a series of elections.