Next President of India: RJD fumes over Nitish supporting Kovind

Nitish's decision is based on the fact he owes his political success to the support from the Dalits.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav may have chosen to remain quiet on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's support to Ram Nath Kovind as NDA's candidate for the upcoming presidential elections, but other leaders of the party have now begun to voice their displeasure.

Nitish's support to Kovind's candidature is being seen as a major snub to the Congress-led opposition which would be holding a meeting today to discuss on presidential candidate.

"On one hand Nitish ji takes initiative to form national 'Mahagatbandhan', while on the other he supports NDA President candidate," RJD's RP Singh told news agency ANI.

Although, Sharad Yadav had on Wedenesday said that maha-gathbandhan will not be affected, Nitish's decision is sure to leave the Grand Alliance shaken.

Nitish's decision is based on the fact he owes his political success to the support from the Dalits. Moreover, Nitish and Kovind shared a good relationship when the latter was Bihar Governor.

It must be recalled that the RJD has maximum number of seats in the coalition government in Bihar. Lalu's sons Tej Pratap and Tejashwi are Health Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively in the Bihar cabinet.

Lalu will attend the meeting of opposition leaders in Delhi on Thursday where a decision is likely to be made on whether they will field their own candidate for President.

Everything put together, Kovind's choice as the presidential candidate is turning out to be a masterstroke by the BJP as even Mayawati is wary of opposing a Dalit candidate.

Modi and Shah, in one single stroke, have not only fractured the oppostion but also consolidated their outreach to Dalits and lower castes.

OneIndia News