<div align="justify">Smarting from the shock it received after Nitish Kumar decided to back NDA Presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind, the Congress on Thursday requested the Bihar chief minister to reconsider his decision.<br /><br />Bihar Congress president Ashok Choudhary met the JD(U) chief and made a fresh appeal to back home-grown Dalit leader Meira Kumar, who is now Opposition candidate for the election.<br /><br />The JD(U) had taken a unanimous decision on Wednesday — a day before Congress president Sonia Gandhi convened a meeting of Opposition parties to dwell on the candidature issue — to back Kovind, whose role as Bihar governor was said be “quite exemplary.”<br /><br />“We have requested Nitish to back Meira Kumar, who is not only a former Lok Sabha Speaker, but also daughter of the late Jagjiwan Ram, the second tallest Dalit leader after B R Ambedkar,” said Choudhary, who is education minister in the Nitish cabinet. <br /><br />RJD chief Lalu Prasad also said he would appeal to Nitish to not back the NDA nominee. “I will speak to Nitish to reconsider his decision to back Kovind as our fight against the fascist forces is based on principles and ideology,” he said in New Delhi.<br /><br />No question of rethink: JD(U)<br /><br />JD(U) general secretary K C Tyagi said there was no question of a rethink over his party’s support to NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind, following the Congress-led Opposition’s decision to name former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as its candidate, DHNS reports from New Delhi.<br /><br />Tyagi said his party stood by its decision to back Kovind, who was governor of Bihar before he was named by the BJP as its nominee for the July 17 election. Rejecting RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s call to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to rethink his stand on supporting Kovind, Tyagi said his party considered the NDA nominee to be the fittest candidate to occupy the country’s top post. <br /><br />Besides, Tyagi said the alliance between his party, the RJD and the Congress was limited to Bihar and the Presidential poll did not fall within its ambit. The RJD is in alliance with the JD(U) in the state.<br /><br />“Our decision to support Kovind remains unchanged. It was a decision taken on merit after due application of mind and full consultation within the party... We will stick with his choice,” JD(U) spokesperson Pavan Kumar Varma said.<br /></div>
<div align="justify">Smarting from the shock it received after Nitish Kumar decided to back NDA Presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind, the Congress on Thursday requested the Bihar chief minister to reconsider his decision.<br /><br />Bihar Congress president Ashok Choudhary met the JD(U) chief and made a fresh appeal to back home-grown Dalit leader Meira Kumar, who is now Opposition candidate for the election.<br /><br />The JD(U) had taken a unanimous decision on Wednesday — a day before Congress president Sonia Gandhi convened a meeting of Opposition parties to dwell on the candidature issue — to back Kovind, whose role as Bihar governor was said be “quite exemplary.”<br /><br />“We have requested Nitish to back Meira Kumar, who is not only a former Lok Sabha Speaker, but also daughter of the late Jagjiwan Ram, the second tallest Dalit leader after B R Ambedkar,” said Choudhary, who is education minister in the Nitish cabinet. <br /><br />RJD chief Lalu Prasad also said he would appeal to Nitish to not back the NDA nominee. “I will speak to Nitish to reconsider his decision to back Kovind as our fight against the fascist forces is based on principles and ideology,” he said in New Delhi.<br /><br />No question of rethink: JD(U)<br /><br />JD(U) general secretary K C Tyagi said there was no question of a rethink over his party’s support to NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind, following the Congress-led Opposition’s decision to name former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as its candidate, DHNS reports from New Delhi.<br /><br />Tyagi said his party stood by its decision to back Kovind, who was governor of Bihar before he was named by the BJP as its nominee for the July 17 election. Rejecting RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s call to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to rethink his stand on supporting Kovind, Tyagi said his party considered the NDA nominee to be the fittest candidate to occupy the country’s top post. <br /><br />Besides, Tyagi said the alliance between his party, the RJD and the Congress was limited to Bihar and the Presidential poll did not fall within its ambit. The RJD is in alliance with the JD(U) in the state.<br /><br />“Our decision to support Kovind remains unchanged. It was a decision taken on merit after due application of mind and full consultation within the party... We will stick with his choice,” JD(U) spokesperson Pavan Kumar Varma said.<br /></div>
