NDA presidential nominee News

NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday began his campaign in Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Set for a comfortable victory, NDA presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind may bag over 62 per cent votes but fall short of the 69 per cent votes polled by incumbent Pranab Mukherjee in 2012.

NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind will file the nomination papers for the July 17 presidential election in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and all top leaders of the alliance on June 23.

In yet another indication of growing fissures in the opposition rank over BJP's choice for the country's highest constitutional post, Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav has now heaped praise on BJP's presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind.

Though Uttar Pradesh has given the nation a number of prime ministers, it will be perhaps for the first time that the politically-crucial state will also have the pride of sending someone to Rashtrapati Bhavan if NDA nominee Ramnath Kovind becomes president.

She, however, stopped short of expressing immediate support for Kovind saying the BSP will be positive provided the opposition does not field any Dalit for the top post.

The Shiv Sena, the second largest constituent of the NDA, has had an uneasy relationship with the BJP ever since the two parties parted ways ahead of the 2014 assembly polls.

“We will meet on 22nd June, and only then we can announce our decision,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA is likely to announce its candidate for the upcoming presidential elections on June 20, said an ANI report.