PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Wednesday welcomed candidature of NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu for the Presidential election to be held on July 18.
In his tweet, Nitish said Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him to inform about the decision to nominate former Jharkhand governor for Presidential election. Nitish's statement assumed significance in the wake of his party's earlier stand when JD-U had voted in favour of candidates of its choice and not toeing the lines of the alliance. In 2012, JD-U had voted in favour of UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee despite it being a part of NDA.
Similarly, in 2017, Nitish's party had voted in favour of NDA nominee and former Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind despite JD-U being a part of Grand Alliance led by RJD in the state.
In his tweet, Nitish said, “We express happiness at the candidature of Droupadi Murmu for President of India. She is a tribal woman and it is a matter of great happiness that a tribal woman is a candidate for the highest position in the country. She performed well as a minister in Odisha and her role as Jharkhand governor was also commendable.”
JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh also cleared his party's stand on the issue. Singh said his party has always worked for empowerment of women. “We welcome and support Murmu. Her victory is a foregone conclusion,” he added.
Barely a couple of hours before, LJP (Ram Vilas) chief and Jamui MP Chirag Paswan had lent his party's support to NDA candidate for Presidential election. “Although we don't consider that our party is a part of NDA, we have decided to support the candidature of Murmu based on her merit,” Chirag said.
Chirag's reactions came after Deference Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to him over the phone and informed him about Murmu's candidature for Presidential election. Sources close to Chirag Paswan said that Rajnath Singh told him (Chirag) that PM Narendra Modi would consider him to be inducted in NDA fold.
“On Tuesday I received a call for support. They said Chirag Ji we still consider you as an ally of NDA,” Chirag said. Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi also lent his support to the NDA candidate. HAM has four MLAs in Bihar Assembly.