Kovind to meet MPs, MLAs in Kashmir on Wednesday

National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind will visit Srinagar on June 28 as part of his campaign for the July 17 election.

Union Ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu and Jitendra Singh will accompany Kovind, who will meet members of Parliament and state assembly of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who are part of the electoral college, at the official residence of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, informed sources said on Monday.

The BJP shares power with the PDP in the state.

BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, in charge of the party's affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, will also go with Kovind.

A day later, Kovind will visit Chandigarh to seek support from members of Parliament and assembly of the BJP and ally Akali Dal from Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh.

On his visit to Chandigarh, Kovind will be accompanied by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

On June 30, Kovind will be in Delhi and is likely to meet MPs here. The new indirect tax regime -- the Goods and Services Tax (GST) -- will be launched at the midnight of June 30 in the Central Hall of Parliament in an hour-long event. Members of Paliament are likely to remain in Delhi for the event.

President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and H.D. Deve Gowda will be present at the special event.

Earlier on MOnday, Kovind reached Uttarakhand, where he was received by Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.

Accompanied by Union Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot, Kovind held a meeting with legislators and parliamentarians of the state at the official residence of Rawat.

After filing his nomination on June 23, Kovind, 71, started his election campaign from Uttar Pradesh on June 25.

He is pitted against former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, the candidate of opposition parties including the Congress.

Kovind is widely expected to sail through the presidential election.

The NDA, including the Shiv Sena and the PDP, commands support of 48.93 per cent of the electoral college, which is made up of members of Parliament and all state legislatures.

With the backing of parties outside the alliance, like Telangana Rashtra Samithi (2 per cent), AIADMK (5.39 per cent), YSR Congress (1.53 per cent) and Biju Janata Dal (2.99 per cent), the support base for the NDA's presidential candidate reaches nearly 63 per cent, with Janata Dal-United contributing 1.91 per cent.

The counting of votes will take place on July 20. President Pranab Mukherjee's term ends on July 24.

--IANS

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