The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has extended support to the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) choice of Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind for President's post.
TRS floor leader in the Lok Sabha A P Jithender Reddy said, “After Mr. Amit Shah declared the candidate, Prime Minister Modi called up Mr. KCR —— the first person to be telephoned by Mr. Modi after the decision —— and asked him for support, and Mr. KCR very openly said that as he [Mr. Kovind] is a Dalit leader and a very good person, we wholeheartedly support him.” Read more
Prme Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet, "I am sure Shri Ram Nath Kovind will make an exceptional President & continue to be a strong voice for the poor, downtrodden & marginalised."
Why not Sushma or Advani, asks Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said "Someone of the stature of Pranab Mukherjee, or even Sushma Swaraj or L.K. Advani may have been made the presidential candidate".
Just because he was the leader of the Dalit Morcha of the BJP, they have made him the candidate, she said.
Personally happy, says Nitish
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said after meeting Mr. Kovind that it was a mater of personal happiness that the State Governor has been nominated as presidential candidate. As far as his party’s support is concerned, Mr Kumar said, "its not right time to answer such question," though he had spoken to RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on this issue, reports The Hindu correspondent Amarnath Tewary . Read more
The Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut said the party would convene a meeting to formulate its stand on the NDA’s presidential candidate.
The CPI wants the Opposition to put up a candidate against the NDA nominee. Its general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy said, “He is also from RSS ranks. He was president of Dalit BJP Morcha...Sangh Pariwar organisation. Definitely, we will put up a candidate. Anybody from RSS...we will fight.”
It's an unilateral announcement: Yechury
The CPI(M) on Monday said the BJP "unilaterally" selected Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as the NDA's presidential nominee and the Opposition will meet on June 22 to decide their next step ahead of the July 17 polls.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that the non-NDA parties will take the decision "keeping in mind the country's history that the ruling and opposition parties contested the polls on all occasion except once".
BSP's stand cannot be negative: Mayawati
Even while asserting that the Bahujan Samaj Party cannot be negative towards a Dalit nominee of the NDA for the post of President, party chief Mayawati says it would have been better if NDA had named some non-political Dalit person as nominee for the President's job. Read more
A masterstroke by BJP: Jitan Ram Manjhi
Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi welcomed the “masterstroke of the BJP” to nominate a Dalit as presidential candidate.
“Earlier, I’d demanded that the BJP should nominate a Dalit as presidential candidate and who could be the better choice than intellectual, erudite and a good administrator like Ram Nath Kovind…with this decision, the BJP has also shown that its not an anti-Dalit party”, he said. Read more
Rise above party politics: Yogi Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed all parties in the State to support Mr. Kovind.
“It is my appeal to all political parties to rise above party politics and support the son of Uttar Pradesh to become the President,” he said, adding that this was his personal appeal as well as that on behalf of his government. “It is a matter of pride for the 22 crore people of the State,” he said.
Right choice: Andhra CM
TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has hailed Mr. Kovind’s candidature as “the right choice” for the highest constitutional post and pledged his party’s full support to him.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has congratulated Mr. Kovind.
(With inputs from PTI)
