In Kovind, BJP steals Oppn thunder

New Delhi, June 20
For starters, that Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind would be the next President is almost a foregone conclusion. The BJP has sufficient numbers and support to see Kovind occupy the country’s most prestigious address—Rashtrapati Bhawan at Raisina Hill.
As several names, including those of senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Sumitra Mahajan and Dalit representatives such as Union Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot, were doing the rounds, the announcement came as a major surprise. But given the party’s style of functioning under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its president Amit Shah, the surprise element was expected.
In fact, a joke doing the rounds at the BJP headquarters today was that let alone top leaders or ministers, perhaps the 71-year-old Kovind, too, was unaware of what was coming his way.
Kovind is in Delhi to meet PM Modi and other senior leaders. His candidature comes with the blessings of the Sangh, which is quite obvious. “Anyone reaching this position has to have RSS background and backing,” says a top BJP leader.
Though ally Shiv Sena may be making negative sounds, the masterstroke intending to make several political kills is unlikely to be opposed by several Opposition parties. Parties such as the TRS, YSR Congress, AIADMK, BJD and the DMK have already expressed support and it is expected that the JD-U may also fall in place.
Kovind’s appointment as the Bihar Governor had run into a controversy with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who had claimed he “was not consulted on the issue”. But currently, the Governor shares good rapport with NDA’s ally-turned-foe Nitish.
The Mayawati-led BSP may have given a “partial yes”, but she and the Samajwadi Party are also likely to accept the BJP’s choice—main reason being his caste. The BJP’s choice seems to have cornered the Opposition and is expected to help the saffron surge in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Born on October 1, 1945, at Kanpur Dehat, Uttar Pradesh, Kovind belongs to the Koli community. Known as a down to earth and extremely humble person, he may not be the first Dalit President (KR Narayanan was the one), but surely would be one born in UP.
A lawyer by profession, Kovind has served as the national spokesperson of the party and also as the president of its Dalit Morcha. He is expected to help the BJP get the last-mile acceptance in the community and shed its image of being a “party of upper castes”.
Kovind has also held several government posts, including of the Central Government Advocate in Delhi High Court and the Central Government Standing Counsel in the Supreme Court. Elected to the Rajya Sabha for two consecutive terms till March 2006, he also served on several important Parliamentary Committees.
More importantly, the NDA candidate is known as a crusader for the rights and cause of weaker sections, especially the SCs, STs and the OBCs. He joined the SC/ST movement of employees against the Central Government in 1997 and succeeded in getting some “objectionable government orders” declared null and void. “He is a man of integrity, has a clean and secular image and is the best possible choice for the top post,” say BJP leaders.