The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday hunkered down to get the formalities of getting its choice of candidate for the presidential polls, Ram Nath Kovind, elected. While the candidate himself was busy making and receiving calls at Bihar Nivas, Union Ministers Ananth Kumar and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi along with the BJP’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Rakesh Singh and Rajasthan MP Om Birla have been busy shepherding MPs and MLAs for signatures on the four sets of nomination papers that Mr. Kovind will be filing. Each set has to have 50 legislators as proposers. BJP MPs and MLAs have been summoned to Delhi to do the needful, as Tuesday is the self imposed deadline to complete the process.
“As of now this is the priority,” said one senior general secretary of the party, anxiously keeping an eye on the news, for any indications on the opposition’s strategy. “We have the numbers, but it will be important to see who the opposition chooses as candidate,” he said. “A tour plan to visit different state capitals for Ram Nathji will be drawn up after June 23rd, when he files his nominations. First proposers for these four sets of nominations papers will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal, and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu,” said the source.
Police pickets and security scanners also came up outside a tiny flat in North Avenue, coincidentally flanking Rashtrapati Bhawan. This is the flat that Mr. Kovind was allotted as guest accommodation as ex-MP, from the Rajya Sabha’s housing pool. A truck with chairs and a folded tent stands parked outside, as Mr. Kovind’s many visitors have been trying their luck to effect a meeting, either here or at Bihar Niwas, and seating them while they wait is to sorted out. Mr Kovind’s immediate family heard the news of his candidature over television in New Delhi while he was in Patna, and has been dealing with increased security and a brand new hoarding that has popped up overnight outside the flat.
BJP leaders, dealing with these niggling details are still anxious over the larger political play of the polls. The big elephant in the room, apart from an opposition candidate propped up by the Congress, is the Shiv Sena.
Prospects of Janata Dal (U) chief Nitish Kumar supporting Mr Kovind’s candidature is the other side of this contest, imperilling opposition unity.
The presidential polls it seems is forcing parties to take a call on more than who would be the next President of India.
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