Mayawati announces conditional support to NDA Presidential candidate

19 June, Lucknow

The name of Dalit leader Ram Nath Kovind, proposed by the NDA for the Presidential election, forced BSP supremo Mayawati to toe the line of BJP, who announced to support him, if there was no better candidate from the Opposition.

“BJP President Amit Shah and Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu informed me about the name of Mr Ram Nath Kovind as their Presidential nominee. It would have been better, if they had discussed the name before announcing it,” she said here Monday.

As the NDA candidate is a Dalit, that too of Kori community, which are less in population, BSP would not go against him, the BSP chief added. “However, if the Opposition fields any better Dalit candidate, then we will support the Opposition candidate,” she said in a statement.

She cited the example of KR Narayan, who was also a Dalit, and had been the President in the past. Hitting out at BJP, the BSP chief said that it would have been better if a non-political Dalit was named by BJP for the Presidential post.