Nitish, AIADMK back Kovind, SP divided
Mulayam endorses BJP’s pick, Akhilesh says call to be taken after discussion with other likeminded parties; Oppn to meet today
The BJP has given a good candidate. I have a very old relation with him. MULAYAM SINGH YADAV, SP FOUNDER The President’s post should be above caste and religion. AKHILESH YADAV, SP chief
NEW DELHI/PATNA/LUCKNOW: The Opposition’s strength in the presidential election depleted further on Wednesday as Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal(U) sided with the Bharatiya Janata Party on the nomination of Ram Nath Kovind.
Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav also endorsed Kovind, although his son Akhilesh — who wrested control of the party in a bitter power struggle earlier this year — has not backed the Dalit BJP leader for the President’s post.
Wednesday also saw an AIADMK faction led by Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami back Kovind for the president’s post.
Kumar and Palaniswami’s support means the Opposition strength has now come down to around 3.3 lakh votes out of 10.98 lakh in the electoral college. A rift in the SP, which has nearly 26,000 votes, will further hit Opposition.
The opposition was set to meet on Thursday to announce its canParliament didate and a meeting between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar on Wednesday suggested that Kumar could be the Congress’s preferred choice.
Kumar is among a shortlist of four candidates for the presidential elections.
The others are Dalit icon Babasaheb Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar, Dalit economist Balchand Mungekar and former Union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.
All four leaders are Dalits and, barring Kumar, have links with Maharashtra. The shortlist is seen as an attempt by the opposition camp to woo the Shiv Sena and retain the Nationalist Congress Party.
“We need to counter a Dalit face with another Dalit nominee,” said a senior Opposition leader. The president is elected through electoral college consisting of votes from lawmakers in and state assemblies.
Nitish Kumar was among leaders who initially sought Opposition unity over the Presidential elections set for July 17. On Wednesday, he cited Kovind’s connection to Bihar and a noncontroversial stint as the state’s governor as reasons for him to back his candidature.
Hours later, the AIADMK faction led by Tamil Nadu chief minister E Palaniswami followed suit. AIADMK is the fourth-largest party in the presidential election with 59,000 votes. EPS’s decision indicates a growing bonhomie between it and the BJP.
Union minister Venkaiah Naidu thanked Kumar for his support and said it showed Kovind’s wider acceptability. “JD(U)’s support to Kovind clearly speaks of his wider acceptability among non- NDA parties. This was the intent of wider consultations with opposition parties. I also appeal to other parties to support Kovind.”
After Kumar and the BJP parted ways in 2013, this will be the first time the two estranged partners are on the same page.