Nitish faces fresh calls to reconsider decision on Kovind

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today faced fresh calls from ally and RJD chief Lalu Prasad as well as from some opposition parties to reconsider his party JD(U)'s support to NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind.
Describing the Congress-led opposition nominee Meira Kumar as "Bihar ki Beti" (daughter of Bihar), Prasad appealed to Kumar for the second time in two days to "mend the historic blunder" in extending the JD(U)'s backing to Kovind. Meira Kumar's candidature was announced yesterday.
Kovind was the Governor of Bihar before being chosen as the NDA nominee for the July 17 presidential polls billed as a 'dalit versus dalit' contest.

But the JD(U) stuck to its decision to support Kovind.
"We are still treading on the path you had suggested to make the country 'Sangh-mukt'...Don't know what made Kumar to move away and extend support to a RSS man," Prasad told reporters on his arrival at the JayAprakash Narayan Airport at Patna from New Delhi.
The CPI also urged Kumar as well as BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik to re-consider their decision to support Kovind.

"We appeal to both the chief ministers of Odisha and Bihar to re-consider their decision and support a secular candidate like Meira Kumar. Above all, both BJD and JD(U) are not part of the BJP-led NDA," CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy told reporters in Bhubaneswar.

Reddy, accompanied by CPI national secretary Dr K Narayanana, said they hope both Patnaik and Kumar will have a rethink before casting their vote in favour of Kovind, whom they described as a "Sangha Parivar member."
"We do not know the reasons behind both Patnaik and Kumar supporting the NDA candidate," Reddy said adding, the CPI will contact the BJD and JD(U) before the presidential polls.
Stating that the country needs a secular person to become the President in the backdrop of attacks on dalits and minorities since the NDA government assumed office at the Centre, Reddy said opposition parties have fielded Meira Kumar keeping her background in consideration.

"She (Meira Kumar) has been the Speaker of Lok Sabha, having knowledge on external affairs matters and above all the daughter of Jagjivan Ram," Reddy pointed out.
He said the BJP's three-member committee had asked the CPI about its suggestion for a Presidential candidate.
"We had suggested the name of Gopalkrishna Gandhi and they (BJP) said about meeting again. But, they announced the name of Ram Nath Kovind without consulting us," Reddy said, criticising the BJP for not going for a consensus candidate for the top post.
Asked why Gandhi was not made a candidate by the opposition for the presidential election, the CPI leader said, "We had just suggested the name of Gandhi. Had the BJP agreed on it, we would have supported him."

According to Left sources, it was also surprising that the names they considered were "not even discussed and proposed" when the Opposition leaders met in Delhi yesterday to decide their joint candidate
Ahead of the meeting, the Left parties had decided to propose Gandhi, who is Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, and B R Ambedkar's grandson Prakash.
They claimed that leaders of the JD(U) -- which had earlier pitched for Opposition unity, but is supporting Kovind's candidature -- are also of the view that a non- Congress contender "would have been better," the sources said.
The sources suggested that fielding a Congress candidate is something that will come in the way of bringing the JD(U) back to the Opposition flock notwithstanding her being from Bihar.

"There is a feeling that some non-Congress contender should have been considered," the sources said.