Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind named NDA's presidential candidate

Presidential election will take place on July 17, a week before Mukherjee's term comes to an end

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Monday announced that Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind had been chosen as the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA's) candidate for the coming Presidential polls on July 17. Kovind could file his nomination on June 23, Shah added. 

Soon after, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi extended its support to the NDA candidate. The result of the President election will be announced on July 20, five days before President Pranab Mukherjee's term ends on July 25.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh to seek their support for Kovind.

Watch Shah's press conference here:

Earlier, senior BJP leader and Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had told the media that the name of NDA's presidential candidate would be announced before June 23.

The decision to name Kovind as the presidential candiadate came after BJP's hectic parleys with other political parties to forge a consensus on a common candidate. 

History shows that all presidential polls in India, except one, have seen a contest -- some keen, while most a walkover. In the same tradition, the 15th presidential election is set to see a contest. Of the 14 presidential elections held in the country so far, the only one which saw a candidate getting elected without a contest was the seventh poll, which Neelam Sanjiva Reddy won unopposed.

Soon after, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi extended its support to the NDA candidate.