Nitish to support Kovind for Prez, won't attend opposition meeting

Kumar's support to the NDA candidate will be a major setback for opposition parties who are meeting on Thursday to decide on their presidential nominee. M I Khan reports from Patna.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United has decided to support National Democratic Alliance’s presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

After meeting with JD-U MLAs, Kumar on Wednesday decided to extend support to Kovind’s candidature.

JD-U spokesperson K C Tyagi also said that the party will not attend the meeting of opposition parties on Thursday, saying the meeting is now "irrelevant" for his party after its support for Kovind, a low profile Dalit leader whose nomination by the BJP has drawn support from several non-NDA parties.

Earlier, JD-U MLA Ratnesh Sada told reports that Kumar has told the MLAs that the party will support Kovind.

“Nitish Kumar has decided that the JD-U will support Kovind,” Sada told after coming out of the core committee meeting chaired by Kumar.

According to JD-U leaders, party MLAs had authorised Kumar to take a final decision on support to Kovind ahead of the core committee meeting of the party at 1 Anne Marg, official residence of chief minister.

Kumar’s support to Kovind will be a major setback for the opposition parties led by the Congress.

Earlier too, he had supported the government's decisions like demonetisation, which had invited flak from its allies.

A JD-U leader had earlier told Rediff.com, “Nitish Kumar will support Ram Nath Kovind on two grounds, first for his connection with Bihar (he was Bihar Governor) and second that he is a Dalit.”

With inputs from PTI

Photograph: PTI Photo