Ahead of the meeting of the Opposition parties on Thursday to take a call on the presidential election, the Janata Dal(U) delivered a major blow to the Congress’ effort to bring the Opposition under one umbrella. With the BJD already committed to backing NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind, the Opposition can at best hope to put up only a symbolic fight.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to throw his weight behind Kovind has also created fissures in Bihar’s Mahagathbandhan consisting of the JD(U), the RJD and the Congress. On a day when the JD(U) formally announced its decision to back Kovind, RJD chief lalu Prasad said he would stand with the Congress.
Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palanisamy too extended his support to NDA’s presidential candidate. “Have decided to support NDA’s presidential candidate #RamNathKovind,” he tweeted.
Amid speculation that the Congress might field former lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who called on party president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday evening, the left floated the name of Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Baba Saheb Ambedkar. So far, 18 Opposition parties, including the NCP, the RJD, the Trinamool Congress, have expressed interest in nominating a candidate from the Opposition side.
JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said that the JD(U) will not attend the meeting of the Opposition parties on June 22, saying the meeting is now “irrelevant” for his party after its support to Kovind. The JD(U)’s support to the NDA’s presidential candidate has come as a serious blow to Opposition parties’ attempts to put up a united candidate against him.
Tyagi, however, clarified that the JD(U)’s support to the BJP on the presidential poll is an “isolated incident” as the party will remain part of the Opposition’s efforts for unity against the BJP in future.
“This isolated incident will have no bearing on our efforts for the larger Opposition unity,” Tyagi said.
Nitish Kumar, who is also JD(U) president, had praised Kovind’s tenure as the Governor of Bihar on Monday hours after BJP chief Amit Shah named him as the ruling party’s presidential pick. Nitish Kumar’s support for Kovind is, however, set to seed doubts in parties like the Congress and the RJD, both of which are his allies in the Bihar Government, about his future political course. Earlier too, he had supported the Government’s decisions like demonetisation, which had invited flak from its allies.
Former JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav had so far been a leading Opposition voice for unity against the BJP over the presidential poll. He had been attending meetings of Opposition parties and also attended the Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s lunch on the issue.
RJD supremo lalu Prasad said his party will go with other Opposition parties in their choice for a presidential candidate. lalu brushed aside questions on the JD(U) extending support to the NDA’s pick for the President’s post.
On the other hand, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury is in talks with the Congress and non-NDA parties to know their opinion about Prakash Ambedkar.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which has not been invited to the Opposition meeting on the issue said it will take a call on its stand after the Opposition party meeting. With a total of 85 MlAs in Delhi and Punjab and four MPs, the party has nearly 9,000 votes in the electoral college that will elect the President.