The JD(U) on Friday said it decided to support the NDA candidate for the Presidential poll after the Congress “tacitly” delayed an announcement to force its candidate on non-NDA parties.
It claimed the situation would not have arisen if the Opposition had announced the name of Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi before the BJP came up with the candidature of Ram Nath Kovind.
A senior Opposition leader, however, said the reasoning was “just an afterthought to justify the JD(U)’s decision”.
He said the announcement of Gopalkrishna’s name before Kovind’s would have compounded troubles as parties like the BSP might have switched over following the announcement of a Dalit candidate by the BJP. The leader said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had agreed to the name of Gopalkrishna as early as June 3 when he met CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury.
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