New Delhi: The BJP has picked Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as its choice for President of India, said party chief Amit Shah today.
The announcement was made after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Mr Shah and other top leaders of his party. PM Modi has talked to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh to seek their support for the BJP's nominee.
As a gesture of respect, the BJP also called party veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi to inform them of its nominee before going public.
"Kovind ji has always struggled for the rights of Dalits and other backward classes," the BJP President Amit Shah said at the press conference held after the parliamentary board meeting on Monday.
"Kovind ji has always struggled for the rights of Dalits and other backward classes," the BJP President said at the press conference held after the parliamentary board meeting on Monday.
Who is Ram Nath Kovind ?Kovind, who is currently the governor of Bihar, entered politics in 1994 as a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh. Kovind, who has a Dalit background, practised at the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court for 16 years before entering politics.
He was the Central Government Advocate in Delhi High Court from 1977 to 1979 and the Central Government Standing Counsel in Supreme Court from 1980 to 1993.
Kovind, who was born on October 1, 1945 in Kanpur Dehat in Uttar Pradesh, served as Rajya Sabha MP for two consecutive terms for 12 years till March 2006. He completed his B.Com and LLB from Kanpur University in Uttar Pradesh.
He represented India at the United Nations headquarters in New York and also addressed the UN General Assembly in October 2002.
Kovind was also a member of several Parliamentary Committees, including Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Social Justice and Empowerment, Home Affairs, Petroleum and Natural Gas and Law and Justice. He was also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha House Committee.
During his 12-year parliamentary tenure, Kovind worked towards the development of basic infrastructure for education in rural areas by helping in construction of school buildings in Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand under the MPLAD Scheme.
When he served as a lawyer, Kovind worked towards providing free legal aid to the weaker sections of society, especially women from the Scheduled Castes and Sceduled Tribes, under the "Free Legal Aid Society" scheme in Delhi.
Kovind was also a member of BR Ambedkar University's Board of Management in Lucknow and Member of Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Management in Kolkata.
Here are the 10 latest developments in this big story:
- Ram Nath Kovind is 71 years old, a Dalit and has served as Bihar Governor for three years. He has been asked to travel from Patna to Delhi.
- Former Prime Minister and Congress leader Manmohan Singh is among opposition leaders who have been informed of the government's choice, Mr Shah said.
- The BJP chief refused to comment on how many contenders had been reviewed before the Governor was finalised as the ruling coalition's candidate.
- Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar complained this morning that government was taking too long to reveal its nominee "They haven't decided on any name until now...we can wait for 2-3 days but we cannot wait forever," he said.
- Mr Shah made an important visit yesterday - to disgruntled ally the Shiv Sena to seek its support. The Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is keen on either MS Swaminathan, scientist and father of India's Green Revolution or Mohan Bhagwat, who is the chief of the BJP's ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS. The Sena will reveal its decision at about 7 pm today, said sources.
- If an election is held, the BJP and its allies are positioned to make their candidate win because regional parties, including some from the south, have promised to back the ruling alliance.
- The BJP has assigned three senior ministers - Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu - to consult with allies like the Sena and opposition parties.
- The PM has personally informed several Chief Ministers including Naveen Patnaik of Odisha and Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh about his coalition's candidate.
- All BJP lawmakers and ministers have been summoned to Delhi as the party gears up for the nomination process of its candidates.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi departs for the US on Friday so all formalities are likely to be completed before then.
