After soliciting support from sections of the electoral college in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, NDA’s presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind will visit Srinagar on Wednesday, seeking the backing of lawmakers in the State.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was not present when Mr. Kovind filed his nomination papers last week. She will convene a meeting of MPs and MLAs from the State at her residence where Mr. Kovind will speak, BJP sources said.
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav and Union Ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu and Jitendra Singh will accompany Mr. Kovind to Srinagar. The Peoples Democratic Party, which is in an alliance with the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir, has already pledged its support to Mr. Kovind.
Next stops
After Srinagar, he will travel to Panchkula in Haryana on Thursday, and meet MPs and MLAs from Punjab and Haryana. Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and BJP general secretary Anil Jain will accompany him. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), one of the few parties yet to decide on who to vote for in the presidential poll, has not indicated whether it will meet Mr. Kovind there. “We are in the middle of talks with the INLD,” a senior BJP general secretary said.
Mr. Kovind will turn his attention south, after July 1, stopping over in Chennai where MLAs and MPs from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry are expected to meet him. “We have only one MLA in the Kerala Assembly, O. Rajagopal. He will meet Mr. Kovind in Chennai, as will NR Congress MLAs from Puducherry,” the office-bearer said.
