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HomeEditorialSangh pracharak R N Kovind to be next president of India?

Sangh pracharak R N Kovind to be next president of India?

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Finally, after much anticipation NDA has announced its presidential nominee, currently Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind. He is B.Com, LLB from Kanpur University (Uttar Pradesh) and has been a very successful lawyer. He was the Central Government Advocate in Delhi High Court from 1977 to 1979 and Central Government Standing Counsel in Supreme Court from 1980 to 1993. Dalit leader by caste, a Hindutva ideologue by thinking and a dedicated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker by political affiliation – Kovind was born on October 1, 1945 at Kanpur Dehat. Kovind belongs to the Koli community which fall in Dalit and had worked extensively in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and also has the backing of BJP’s ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The reason for BJP proposing his name is to put on-going Dalit unrest and Dalit politics a full stop. In the recent past, BJP was tagged as an upper caste political party which is anti-minority and anti-Dalit. Moreover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi needed someone hailing from RSS background and at the same time someone who can remain as a puppet in his hands. By all means, he is at this moment a very appropriate candidate for BJP to serve multiple goals. Though, he is most non-controversial and no nonsense person, Kovind served as member of several important Parliamentary Committees such as: Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs, Parliamentary Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas, Parliamentary Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment, Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice, Chairman of Rajya Sabha House Committee. Kovind had also been BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha chief from 1998 to 2002 and President of the All-India Koli Samaj.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of Bihar felt very happy as it was a matter of personal happiness for him that Bihar Governor has been nominated as the Presidential candidate. On his party’s stand, Kumar said it was not right to answer such question now. However, RJD or JDU both rendered their eyes to the candidate chosen by NDA. There will not be much opposition to this selection.

Kovind has served as the national spokesperson of the party. BJP even tried to project him as an alternative to Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh. On 8th of August 2015, the President of India appointed him as the Governor of Bihar. He was elected to Rajya Sabha from state of Uttar Pradesh during the two terms of 1994-2000 and 2000-2006.

Kovind is also known as a pioneer in spreading education. During his parliamentary tenure of 12 years, Kovind emphasized on the development of basic infrastructure for education in rural areas by helping in construction of school buildings in Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand under MPLAD scheme. As an advocate, Kovind took a lead in providing free legal aid to weaker sections of society, especially SC/ST women, needy and the poor under the aegis of “Free Legal Aid Society” in Delhi.

Kovind served as a member of the board of management of BR Ambedkar University, Lucknow. He also served as member of board of governors of Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata. He also represented India in United Nations (New York) and addressed the UN General Assembly in October, 2002. Kovind is being credited of grooming several leaders for the BJP and the RSS.

Mahamahim Kovind is also known for his proximity with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, but has also been a hard core supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation drive.

Meanwhile, the Bihar State Congress Chief Ashok Choudhary too praised Kovind’s tenure as a Bihar Governor. However, “decision on the issue of presidential candidate will be taken by his party high command. The NDA leaders like Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) Chief Jitan Ram Manjhi welcomed the “masterstroke of BJP” to nominate a Dalit as a presidential candidate. However, political observers of the state said this “masterstroke of the BJP” will create a rift between the grand alliance partners in Bihar as well. RJD may not go with the decision of alliance partner Nitish Kumar on the issue of Kovind as NDA’s Presidential nominee but everything will depend on what decision the Congress party takes on the issue. Amit Shah, addressing the media after the party’s parliamentary body meet said that Kovind’s name was decided upon after consultations with Opposition leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and ex-prime minister Manmohan Singh. It seems, they all are voting for NDA’s selected candidate. Notably, if elected, Kovind will be the second Dalit Indian president after K R Narayanan.

However, the BJP is yet to decide on a name for the post of vice-president. The BJP Parliamentary Board had met to decide the presidential candidate at party headquarters with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders present. The Board members were briefed about the consultation undertaken by a three-member party committee with allies and opposition parties. The committee members included Union ministers Rajnath Singh, M Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley, who were also the members of the Board.

The presidential polls will be held on July 17 and the result will be declared on July 20.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

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Vaidehi Taman
Vaidehi Tamanhttps://authorvaidehi.com
Vaidehi Taman an Accredited Journalist from Maharashtra is bestowed with three Honourary Doctorate in Journalism. Vaidehi has been an active journalist for the past 21 years, and is also the founding editor of an English daily tabloid – Afternoon Voice, a Marathi web portal – Mumbai Manoos, and The Democracy digital video news portal is her brain child. Vaidehi has three books in her name, "Sikhism vs Sickism", "Life Beyond Complications" and "Vedanti". She is an EC Council Certified Ethical Hacker, OSCP offensive securities, Certified Security Analyst and Licensed Penetration Tester that caters to her freelance jobs.
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