With a definite crack in the Opposition ranks in the presidential election, the BJP is Rs hopefulRs of cross-voting by Opposition members, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, in favour of NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind that may increase his winning margin.
Kovind, who is from UP, could benefit by Rs the splitRs in the Samajwadi Party as Mulayam Singh Yadav, a lok Sabha MP, had expressed his support for the NDA candidate. SP MlAs loyal to Mulayam and his cousin brother Shivpal Yadav are expected to vote for Kovind.
Shivpal is opposed to the leadership of party president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, son of Mulayam.
With the Mayawati-led BSP faced with declining election returns and political fortune, some of its law-makers too can defy her support for the opposition's candidate Meira Kumar and instead vote for Kovind.
The SP and BSP have 54 and 19 MlAs in the 403-member UP assembly. The SP has five lok Sabha and 18 Rajya Sabha MPs. The BSP has six members in the Rajya Sabha.
As the BJP has an absolute majority and is firmly in command in UP and at the Centre , a segment of opposition members may be swayed to vote for the NDA nominee.
Similarly, fissures in the RJD-JDU partnership in Bihar may also encourage cross-voting in favour of the NDA nominee.A BJP leader said they were not ruling out cross voting from the Congress and the RJD camps.
As there is no provision for party whips in the presidential election, MPs and MlAs are free to vote as per their preference and it is not possible to find out an individual's choice.
Asked whether the NDA nominee may win by about over 65 per cent margin, sources refused to quantify it but said more and more sections of opposition parties are backing Kovind.
The poll is scheduled for July 17 and the counting of votes will take place on July 20.
Meanwhile, Kovind and his rival Meira Kumar would visit Hyderabad this week to drum up support for their candidature from legislators in Telangana for the July 17 polls.
While Kumar, the joint opposition candidate, would arrive in Hyderabad Monday, Kovind's visit is scheduled for Tuesday.