- NDA’s presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind has filed his nomination
- If elected, Ram Nath Kovind will be the country’s second Dalit president, after KR Narayanan (1997-2002)
- Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is the candidate of major opposition parties, led by the Congress
- All eyes are, however, on Nitish Kumar as his decision to support Ram Nath Kovind could set off a political realignment in Bihar
- Lalu Prasad will meet Nitish Kumar later today to try and convince him to vote for Meira Kumar instead
- The Bihar CM’s decision to go against his electoral partner, RJD, is being seen as a move to distance himself from the corruption allegations against Lalu Prasad and his family
Meira Kumar Gets Z+ Security
The security cover of the opposition's presidential nominee Meira Kumar has been upgraded to the top most 'Z+' category, under which she will have round-the-clock protection of armed security personnel.
Kumar was earlier provided with ‘X’ category security.
Under ‘X’ category, the protectee gets one security personnel, armed with semi-automatic rifle, round the clock.
The enhanced security cover entails about 36 security personnel, including commandos, protecting an individual whose threat perception is assessed to be very high by central intelligence agencies.
The protectee also gets pilot and escort vehicles, with armed security personnel.
CPI Urges JD(U), BJD to Back Meira Kumar for President
The CPI urged BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar to reconsider their decision and support opposition candidate Meira Kumar in the presidential election.
We appeal to the chief ministers of Odisha and Bihar to reconsider their decision and support a secular candidate like Meira Kumar. Above all, both BJD and JD(U) are not part of the BJP-led NDA.S Sudhakar Reddy, CPI general secretary
Reddy, accompanied by CPI national secretary K Narayanana, said they hope both Patnaik and Kumar will rethink before casting their vote in favour of Ram Nath Kovind, whom they described as a "Sangha Parivar member".
"Kovind Meets the Expectations of the Opposition": Venkaiah Naidu
Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu lauded JD(U)‘s support for Kovind’s candidature, saying that the nominee meets the expectations of the opposition. Speaking to ANI, he said,
JDU which isn’t part of NDA deciding to support Ram Nath Kovind because of his qualities shows he meets expectations of opposition.
"Congress Fielded Meira Kumar to Divide Dalits" : Yogi Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the opposition parties fielded Meira Kumar as their presidential candidate to divide Dalits to "save their skin".
Only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah picked Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit, as the NDA's presidential candidate, the Congress decided to field Kumar, Adityanath told reporters after Kovind filed his nomination papers.
Intentions of the opposition are not honest towards Dalits, otherwise they would had fielded Kumar last time.
The opposition parties have fielded her only to divide Dalits in the country, he added.