The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance announced Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as its nominee for Presidential elections. Springing a surprise nominee, BJP President Amit Shah said that a large number of parties had been consulted before the NDA came to the decision to elect Kovind as its presidential candidate.
“PM Narendra Modi spoke to Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh to seek their support for presidential pick Ram Nath Kovind,” Amit Shah said adding that he is hopeful that the president will be decided by consensus. Kovind filed his nomination for president on June 23.
Hailing from Kanpur Dehat in Uttar Pradesh, Kovind was born on October 1, 1945. He is married to Savita Kovind, and has a son Prashant Kumar and a daughter Swati.
Here are 5 reasons why selecting Kovind as the Presidential nominee is a masterstroke by the NDA:
Political background: Kovind is not new to politics. He became a Rajya Sabha MP in April 1994 from Uttar Pradesh and served for 12 years until March 2006. Been working as the Governor of Bihar and having held several important positions, he is well aware of the nuances of politics. “He is not a scientist or eminent person in some other field who has been parachuted. He has been a party worker for decades,” BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said.
Congratulations to Shri Ramnath Kovind ji on being announced as the Presidential candidate of NDA (National Democratic Alliance). pic.twitter.com/pufVBCOrEH
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) June 19, 2017
Dalit candidate: Since he belongs to Dalit community, it will be difficult for political parties to deny support to him. If selected, he will be the second Dalit to become the President of the country after KR Narayanan. Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao, Tamil Nadu CM E Palaniswamy have already given their support to Kovind for his candidature. Modi has also spoken to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and others seeking support.
Legal expertise: Kovind is a BCom graduate and has done his LLB from Kanpur University. He was also the advocate of the Central Government in the Delhi High Court from 1977 to 1979. He was included in the Central Government Standing Counsel in the Supreme Court from 1980 to 1993. In 1971, he was enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi.
#रामनाथ_कोविंद के नाम के साथ क्यों कहा जा रहा है कि वो दलित है.ये क्यों हाइलाईट नहीं किया जा रहा कि वो कानून व संविधान के बडे जानकार हैं।
— Sumit Awasthi (@awasthis) June 19, 2017
Trying to strengthen base: Kovind has extensively worked in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Currently the Bihar Governor, he was also once the BJP’s choice to fight BSP chief Mayawati’s caste politics in Uttar Pradesh. By electing him as its presidential pick, the NDA will hope to strengthen its base in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Social worker: He has had a record of working for the masses. He served as a member of the board of management of BR Ambedkar University, Lucknow. In 2002, he represented India at the United Nations and addressed the UN General Assembly. He has also groomed many political leaders of the BJP and the RSS in the past.
Meet The Next President Of India Sh. Ramnath Ji Kovind.
Many Congratulations To @narendramodi Ji & @AmitShah Ji For This MasterStroke. pic.twitter.com/TKK2zJCfIy— राहुल मेहता (@MrRMehta) June 19, 2017
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