New Delhi: In a Dalit versus Dalit contest, former Lok Sabha Speaker and onetime diplomat Meira Kumar, daughter of the late Scheduled Caste icon Babu Jagjivan Ram, will take on the NDA’s Ram Nath Kovind in next month’s presidential election, a 17-party conglomerate of Opposition parties decided Thursday. Congress troubleshooters rushed to NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s residence to convince him of going ahead and announcing the name on Thursday itself. The leaders also called in CPM leader Sitaram Yechury to convince Mr Pawar and a luncheon meeting was held.
The NCP chief is understood to have told the leaders he wanted to wait for a farmers’ meeting with the Maharashtra government on Friday. The Congress and the Left, however, still smarting under JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar’s turnaround, convinced him to agree to announce the name on Thursday itself. A top source said it was pointed out to Mr Pawar that the presidential polls were a litmus test for a larger alliance ahead of the 2019 general election. Interestingly, Mr Pawar as well as JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar were seen as contenders for the leadership of a “Mahagathbandhan” against the Narendra Modi-led BJP.
Now, with Mr Kumar’s exit from the Opposition camp in the coming presidential polls, Mr Pawar’s position becomes stronger in such a possible alliance. RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mr Kumar’s ally in Bihar, said the JD(U) was committing a “historical” blunder and urged the Bihar CM to reconsider his decision on backing Mr Kovind. Earlier, Mrs Gandhi had also expressed a similar view. “We do hope that other parties also join us,” she said when asked about the JD(U) stand. A JD(U) spokesman, however, said, “Our decision to support Kovind remains unchanged. It was a decision taken on merit after due application of mind.” Ms Kumar’s candidature will put pressure on the Bihar Chief Minister as she belongs to his state and is a “mahadalit”.
