BJP reaches out to more Oppn parties

With the Shiv Sena throwing its lot behind the BJP nominee for the Presidential poll, Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday emerged as the unanimous candidate of the ruling coalition.

The BJP is still not complacent about Kovind’s election and is reaching out to more Opposition parties besides the BJD, TRS, Y S R Congress and the AIADMK who have promised their support.

Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, one of the three ministers in the panel set up to hold consultations with the Opposition on garnering support for the BJP nominee, spoke to JD(S) national president and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, DMK working president M K Stalin and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss.

While Gowda told Naidu that he would convey his party’s stand after speaking with Karnataka JD(S) president H D Kumaraswamy, who is away on a trip, Stalin and Ramadoss have also assured that they would get back after holding discussions with their party leaders.

INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala is said to have “responded positively” to the BJP’s request for support during his meeting with Naidu. The PDP, which is running an alliance government with the BJP in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), has also pledged its support for Kovind.

J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti assured her party’s support when Naidu spoke to her. Naidu, while thanking Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his support, invited him to be present on Friday when Kovind files his nomination for the Presidential election. A source in the BJP said Patnaik has agreed to the request. The chief ministers of BJP-ruled states have been asked to be present during the filing of nomination to make it a grand affair.