Just a few hours after, BJP Chief Amit Shah on Monday declared the name of Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as NDAs Presidential candidate and said that he has spoken to Sonia Gandhi and various other opposition leaders to come to a consensus on the same, Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed that BJP has taken "one-sided decision".
"BJP has taken one-sided decision", said Azad on Presidential candidate.
Meanwhile, as per sources, Meira Kumar can be Presidential candidate of the Opposition.
BJP Chief Amit Shah on Monday declared the name of Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as NDA's Presidential candidate and said that he has spoken to Sonia Gandhi and various other opposition leaders to come to a consensus on the same.
While expressing his certainty towards Kovind's election as President of India, Shah said, "By and large all NDA parties have agreed to Ram Nath Govind's name for the Presidential poll".
Here are six reasons why Ram Nath Kovind preferred as NDA's Presidential candidate:
- Kovind is a politician as was demanded by some opposition parties.
- He is a Dalit and hence by naming him as the Presidential candidate, BJP has impressed the Dalit voters of UP and Bihar, keeping in mind 2019 Lok Sabha election.
- BJP knows that in last LS election, the party won because of good performance in UP-Bihar. And if it wants to win in 2019, then the party has to again do well in these two states. Hence, choosing Kovind will be a good step.
- BJP wants its candidate to win by huge votes. Due to Kovind coming from the Dalit background, BJP believes, that it will be difficult for some opposition parties to oppose.
- It is being aimed to encash Dalit voters. Kovind selection will also benefit party's image among the lower caste.
- He is from UP and Governor of Bihar, so Mulayam Singh Yadav and Nitish Kumar, both, will not be able to protest against his name.