The huge billboards in the Telangana Capital said it all: “Welcome to Ram Nath Kovind, the Presidential candidate of the NDA and supported by the TRS”.
The presence of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao at a meeting with Kovind, and the former’s refusal to meet Opposition candidate Meira Kumar on Monday were clear signals of where ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s support lay.
Kovind arrived to a rousing welcome in the city on Tuesday morning. Along with Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu and Bandaru Dattatreya, Kovind was felicitated by KCR at a combined meeting of the TRS and the BJP.
A few hours later, the Presidential candidate was in Amaravati, the Andhra Pradesh Capital, meeting Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and legislators of his TDP. Union Ministers Ashok Gajapati Raju and Y Sujana Chowdhury were also present. Kovind enjoys the support of 207 of the 211 legislators (MPs and MLAs) from the State. This includes the votes of the TDP, the BJP and the Opposition YSR Congress. The Congress has four MPs in the Rajya Sabha.
Extending the TRS’ support, KCR said: “We are fully with PM Narendra Modi in his efforts to make India a strong economic power in a cooperative federal mode.” Kovind reciprocated by stating that even before his name was announced, the Telangana Chief Minister had publicly pledged support for the NDA candidate, which was reflected in the confidence levels that he enjoyed at the moment.
The NDA Presidential candidate promised to keep the office of the President above party politics, which he claimed to have done as Bihar Governor too.
Venkaiah refutes chargeEarlier, dismissing the Opposition’s charge that the BJP not consulting them while deciding on a Presidential candidate, Venkaiah Naidu said the PM had constituted a coordination committee that included him, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, to hold discussions with Opposition party leaders. “We did not go with a name but to seek suggestions and unanimity. After the exercise, the BJP Parliamentary Party met and selected Ram Nath Kovind. Before announcing the name, Modi spoke to [Congress chief] Sonia Gandhi, I spoke to [CPI(M) General Secretary] Sitaram Yechury, and [BJP President] Amit Shah, to other leaders and thereafter put out the name.”
The Union Minister said the Presidential election on July 17 is not based on values or ideologies as the combined opposition candidate Meira Kumar and leaders are trying to project. It’s only on the commitment to protecting the Constitution and upholding rights. That the NDA candidate is non-partisan is evident from Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) President Nitish Kumar’s decision to back Kovind, Venkaiah said.