It's Official. Nitish Kumar Will Back BJP On President. Here's Why.

Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar phoned Sonia Gandhi, the Congress boss, in April to suggest a corralling of opposition parties over the election of the President of India. Mr Kumar pitched the idea of a united opposition candidate as a test run for a Maha-Gathbandhan or Grand Alliance for the general election in 2019.

Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, has decided to side with the government and back Ram Nath Kovind for President, top leaders of his party said today.

After giving indications that he might support the NDA's presidential candidate, Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday attended a dinner hosted by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A key ally of the ruling BJP, Shiv Sena today ended the suspense on its support to NDA's presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind, saying it will back him.

NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind has been accorded a 'Z+' cover of NSG commandos by the Union government.

Mild mannered and a thorough gentleman, Kovind's choice by the BJP's helmsmen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party president, Amit Shah, has once again been described as a masterstroke.

An election for President is essential, the Left said on Tuesday, claiming that "it is a battle of ideologies" - a stand that resonates with the Congress. D Raja of the CPI said that the Left will support either former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar or former union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who are both Dalit leaders from the Congress, but it is for their party to ...

Shatrugan Sinha has delivered the latest of his takedowns of his own party, the BJP, in imitable style by describing its effort to consult other parties about who should be President of India as little more than "ringa ringa roses."

Just as intended by the BJP, the selection of Ram Nath Kovind for the President of India has fissured the opposition. Especially in Bihar, where Mr Kovind has served as Governor since August 2015 and where the two main partners in government, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav, have a propensity for disagreement.

The opposition parties will meet on Thursday to decide whether to support Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind or field their own candidate for the President's post. There is speculation that the opposition may pick another Dalit leader, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. The BJP's announcement appears to have driven a wedge amid opposition parties, which are wary that r...

Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray said the party will take a "final decision" today on whether to support its alliance partner BJP's pick for President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.

Senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya Monday brushed off the opposition's contention that Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind was picked as the party's Presidential candidate because of his RSS background. "So what if Kovind is from the RSS? Are RSS people from Pakistan? The nation should be proud that they have a rashtrawadi (nationalist) president," Mr Vijayvargiya said...

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday said his Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will support BJP's presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind. His announcement came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with him over the phone this evening.

The NDA's Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind on Monday expressed the hope that all political parties will back his nomination in the July 17 election.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, today said the BJP "unilaterally" selected Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as the NDA's presidential nominee. The party's general secretary said that the Opposition will meet on June 22 to decide their next step ahead of the July 17 polls.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today congratulated Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind for his nomination as the NDA candidate for the presidential poll.

On a plane to Delhi, Ram Nath Kovind, likely to be the next President of India, told NDTV of his nomination by the BJP, "It's a duty, let's take it as such."

India's ruling coalition has announced its candidate for a presidential election, choosing a man who has championed the rights of India's Dalits amid protests by so-called "lower castes."

The surprise announcement of Ram Nath Kovind - Bihar Governor and a Dalit - as the Presidential candidate by the Narendra Modi government has drawn a "will get back" reaction from most opposition parties. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, has been her outspoken self. Minutes after the NDA's Presidential candidate was announced, the Chief Minister, who i...

The Bharatiya Janata Party has picked Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as its choice for President of India, BJP chief Amit Shah said today.

Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi informed Congress chief Sonia Gandhi personally about the BJP's candidate for President of India, her party said that it was a token gesture.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to formally seek support for Ramnath Kovind, who has been chosen he presidential candidate of the NDA. He asked Mr Naidu to speak to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who left this morning for a three-day trip to The Hague, Netherlands.

The selection of Kovind proves that Modi and Shah do not take a moment off from 24/7 politics.

Ram Nath Kovind, former Bihar governor, was sworn in today as the 14th President of India. Mr Kovind, 71, "will make an exceptional President", Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted soon after his nomination for the country's top post. As an experienced lawyer, his "knowledge and understanding of the Constitution will benefit the nation," Mr Modi had emphasised.