DID MODI SELECT KOVIND IN 2015?
It is being thought that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had more or less made up his mind about Ram Nath Kovind, when he picked him out of the blue to be made Bihar Governor in 2015. Perhaps, Modi wanted to groom him for the top post, as was done by first PM Jawaharlal Nehru in the case of Zakir Husain. Nehru had made Husain Bihar’s Governor on 6 July 1957, though he was reluctant to go to Patna Raj Bhawan. In May 1962, Husain straight became the Vice-President. Five years later, he walked into the Rashtrapati Bhawan as India’s third President. By that time, he was well-versed in the nitty-gritty of the Constitution and the Parliamentary system. Technically, Kovind is the “first sitting Governor of Bihar” who is headed to become India’s 14th President. That is why, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has come out openly in Kovind’s favour. Modi’s strategy has paid the NDA rich dividends.