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Team Opposition Shrinks Ahead of Meeting To Pick Candidate for President

Nitish Kumar is expected to officially announce his support for the BJP's president pick - Ram Nath Kovind - this evening, just a day before opposition parties meet in Delhi to discuss who they will field.

Reported by Sunil Prabhu, Edited by Shuchi Shukla |Updated: Jun 21, 2017 16:15 IST

Opposition parties will meet in Delhi tomorrow to decide on their presidential nominee (file photo)

New Delhi: The Opposition move to field a joint candidate to take on the ruling BJP's nominee for President began in April, after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi and urged her to lead the initiative. Mr Kumar's decision to back Ram Nath Kovind, the candidate picked by the Narendra Modi government for President, thus came as a big blow for opposition unity.
 
Mr Kumar is expected to officially announce his decision this evening, just a day before opposition parties meet in Delhi to discuss who they will field. It is a dwindling team, with the BJP's decision to pick Mr Kovind, a Dalit, putting leaders like Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party in a bind. Ms Mayawati draws huge support from Dalits and has indicated that she will find it difficult to oppose a leader from the community.

Nitish Kumar shares a good rapport with Mr Kovind and has praised him for being "impartial" as the Governor of Bihar. He told leaders of his party in Patna today that he cannot oppose his candidacy. He informed Sonia Gandhi and his partner Lalu Yadav of his decision on Monday soon after Mr Kovind's nomination was announced, party leaders said.