Third BRS MLA to join the Congress
A day after BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao claimed that 20 Congress MLAs were ready to quit the party and join him, his party MLA Prakash Goud from Rajendranagar met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
A day after meeting BJP veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday met former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Kovind's meeting with Vajpayee comes on the day when Opposition parties, headed by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, are meeting to decide their choice of candidate for the July 17 Presidential election.
Kovind on Wednesday paid a courtesy visit to LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, the two leaders who are credited with playing a key role in the saffron party’s growth.
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He met LK Advani in the evening and visited MM Joshi’s residence earlier in the day.
There was talk about Advani and Joshi being considered by the BJP as its pick for the president’s post.
According to reports, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has given consent to support Kovind for the presidential election.
Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), with its large support base among the Dalits, has already announced its support to Kovind.
Other non-NDA parties who supported Kovind include All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and YSR Congress Party.
AIADMK's O Pannerselvam faction on Thursday morning announced support to NDA's presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind.
Shiv Sena and the People's Democratic Party, both NDA constituents, too, have pledged support to Kovind.
The term of current President Pranab Mukherjee will end on July 24.
Kovind, a lawyer, two-time Rajya Sabha MP and former president of the BJP's Dalit Morcha, is likely to file his papers on 23 June.
BJP chief Amit Shah had announced Kovind’s name as NDA's choice for Presidential candidate on Monday.
(With inputs from agencies)
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