Ram Nath Kovind‬, ‪Bharatiya Janata Party‬, ‪National Democratic Alliance‬, ‪Narendra Modi‬, ‪Bihar‬, ‪India‬, ‪Dalit‬‬

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of BR Ambedkar, the architect of India’s Constitution, have emerged as frontrunners of the Opposition camp to take on the NDA’s presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind.

The Opposition parties will be meeting at 4pm on Thursday to finalise their candidate for the presidential poll that will take place on July 17.

Like Kovind, both Meira Kumar and Prakash Ambedkar belong to the Scheduled Castes. Meira Kumar is the daughter of Dalit stalwart and former deputy prime minister late Jagjivan Ram.

The 71-year-old Kovind’s candidature was seen as a masterstroke by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it created a divide in the opposition that was trying to put up a consensus candidate. Many in the camp were averse to the idea of opposing a Dalit and some, such as the BJD, TRS and YSR Congress, had already announced their support. Both factions of the AIADMK -- E Palanswami and O Panneerselvam -- too have said they will back Kovind.

On Wednesday, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), widely expected to join the opposition meeting today, announced they would support Kovind’s candidature. His coalition partner in Bihar, Lalu Prasad’s RJD, remains with the Congress-led opposition.

Though Nitish has remained tight-lipped, the announcement to support Kovind came from his party colleague KC Tyagi, a former Rajya Sabha member.

But now the candidature of Meira Kumar, a Dalit leader who hails from Bihar, could put Nitish in a spot. He will have to find a justification to back Kovind, who is from Uttar Pradesh , and not the former Lok Sabha Speaker.

The Left parties were said to be in favour of Prakash Ambedkar’s candidature, although Left sources said they were not opposed to Meira Kumar either.

Former home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Balchand Mungekar were said to be the other opposition options. But the Shiv Sena’s support to Kovind may have ruled out Shinde, a leader from Maharashtra. The Sena earlier had ditched the BJP to back Pratibha Patil for Maratha pride.

Kovind was expected to have a smooth ride and the only debate now is about the former Bihar governor’s victory margin.

ALL WE KNOW SO FAR:

• With consensus missing on Kovind, it is clear now that there is going to be a contest for the President on July 17 between the ruling National Democratic Alliance led by the BJP, and the Opposition led by the Congress.
• Meira Kumar, 72, tops the list of the Opposition's likely candidates. The list so far has another Dalit leader from the Congress Sushil Kumar Shinde, CPI national secretary D Raja, and retired diplomat and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopal Krishna Gandhi.
• The Left parties are also reported to be rooting for Prakash Ambedkar, a former Member of Parliament and grandson of BR Ambedkar. The 63-year-old Dalit is a former Lok Sabha member from Akola in Maharashtra. He heads the Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh.
• The Opposition parties barring the Janata Dal (United) are meeting in New Delhi today. There is likely to be a clarity on who will be the Opposition's candidate for the presidential contest by this afternoon.
• The numbers, however, are stacked against the Opposition, which is already divided now following Janata Dal (United)'s unilateral decision to back former Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, who is 71.
• While the Opposition had decided it was going to put up a candidate against Kovind and turn the election into an ideological fight, some parties also now admit that by putting up a Dalit candidate, the NDA has left the Opposition with few options.
• Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has already indicated that opposing Kovind for President is difficult now unless the Opposition comes up with another prominent Dalit face.
• Kovind, who is camping in New Delhi since the announcement of his nomination by BJP president Amit Shah on Monday, today met ailing former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at his residence. On Wednesday, Kovind had met BJP veteran LK Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi.
• Kovind will file his nomination papers on Friday, following which he is expected to reach out to the Opposition parties for their support.
• The voting for President will take place on July 17; results will be known three days later on July 20. The term of incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee ends on July 24 and that of Vice-President M Hamid Ansari on August.

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