At last the BJP-led NDA Government has shown its cards. It has announced its presidential candidate. If all goes well, and there is nothing to suggest it will not, then 72 year old Ram Nath Kovind, the present Governor of Bihar will be the next President of India. Not much is known about Kovind, except that he is a Dalit leader and a former Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, elected by the BJP between 1994-2000 and 2000-2006. Kovind is an advocate by profession and practices in Delhi.
Kovind has been the former President of the BJP Dalit Morcha (1998-2002) and President of the All-India Koli Samaj. He also served as national spokesperson of the party. He was appointed Governor of Bihar in August 8, 2015. It is learnt that Kovind appeared for the civil services examination on three occasions and succeeded in the third attempt but did not join as he was selected for the allied services instead of the IAS. He then chose to practise law in the Delhi High Court and later became Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court in 1978.
The BJP had kept the name of Kovind under wraps even when its leaders led by Home Miinister Raj Nath Singh had met with Congress, President Sonia Gandhi and CPI (M) General Secretary, Sitaram Yechury last week. The only thing that many conjectured was that the BJP’s presidential candidate would be one that both the Congress and the CPI (M) would find difficult to reject. Indeed, no political party can justifiably reject a Dalit candidate without being put on the back-foot. After all, in India it’s the politics of appeasement that never fails to work. Having shown their trump card, BJP President, Amit Shah tweeted, “I believe that all political parties will come forward and support NDA’s candidate for the President’s office.” Until a day ago there were rumours that LK Advani might be the BJP’s presidential nominee. The BJP clearly has its agenda all sorted out. Kovind’s selection will take the wind out of the BSP’s sails and render Mayawati inconsequential.
