National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind on Friday filed his nomination papers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and an array of the alliance’s Chief Ministers and party leaders even as it sought to reach out to the Opposition saying that the President’s office was above party politics and that he did not belong to any party.
Kovind was accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled States as well as that of Telangana and Tamil Nadu, Union Ministers and other senior leaders of the ruling bloc, as he arrived in the Parliament building to file his nomination papers.
BJP president Amit Shah and party veterans lK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were also present during the filing of nominations.
All Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled States and its allies except Manohar Parrikar of Goa and Mehbooba Mufti of Jammu & Kashmir were present. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami were among those in attendance.
“Since I became the Governor I do not belong to any political party,” the 71-year-old former head of the BJP’s Dalit Morcha said after filing his nomination paper here for the top constitutional post.
“I appeal to all members of the electoral college for support,” Kovind said.
“It is my belief that the post of the President is above party politics and I will strive to keep it so,” he said in a brief address to the media on the Parliament premises.
He named several former Presidents to cite the “great traditions” of the office and stressed the Constitution was supreme in the country. “That its supremacy is maintained is very important,” he added.
Underlining his agenda, he said he would work for the country’s “all-round development, fulfilment of youths’ aspirations and encouragement to modern education”.
“I will strive to see to it that the dream to build a new India which is developing continuously when we celebrate 75 years of Independence in 2022 is fulfilled,” he said, reading out from a prepared text.
In a reference to the country’s security, he noted that the President was the supreme commander of the armed forces. “The security of our country’s borders should be our top priority,” he said.
He will start a nation-wide tour on June 25, stopping first in Uttar Pradesh, where he will talk to members of the electoral college that votes for the new President.
The former Bihar Governor will be accompanied by senior BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in the UP leg of the tour. BJP sources said Kovind would travel to the bigger States and at some places interact with electoral college members from more than one State.
With the NDA and some of the regional parties like JD (U), BJD, TRS. AIADMK and YSR Congress throwing their weight behind Kovind, the country is set to get its second Dalit President after KR Narayanan who was elected the 10th President of India in 1997 when barring Shiv Sena and the entire Opposition backed him. NDA constituents itself comprise over 48.6 per cent of votes in the electoral college that will elect the next President
A low-profile Dalit leader who held various organisational positions in the BJP, Kovind was made the Bihar Governor in 2015 after the NDA came to power in May 2014. Kovind’s opponent is another Dalit leader — former speaker Meira Kumar who is a nominee of the Congress-led Opposition parties.
The NDA presidential nominee is guaranteed to get more than 61 per cent of votes, and the final tally depends on how some still-undecided regional parties vote, according to BJP sources. The term of the incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee ends on July 24.
Some of the key Opposition figures like JDU’s Nitish Kumar and BJD’s Naveen Patnaik broke through the Opposition ranks and backed the NDA candidate. The election is scheduled for July 17 and the counting of votes will take place on July 20.