The Opposition parties are counting on making the 16th Presidential election a close contest. By nominating Yashwant Sinha as their candidate, the Opposition is now hoping to bring Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) onto their side, to make the battle slightly more even. Over the last many weeks, the JD(U) and the BJP have been at each other’s throats, and the latest point of friction is the government’s new military recruitment scheme Agnipath.
Also read: Yashwant Sinha | The political journey of the Opposition’s Presidential candidate
Nitish Kumar has a curious history in Presidential elections. In 2012, when he was part of the NDA alliance, he had voted in favour of the UPA nominee Pranab Mukerjee. And in 2017, while he was in a mahagatbandhan with the RJD, he voted for NDA nominee Ramnath Kovind. Just weeks after Mr. Kovind was elected, Mr. Kumar had walked out of the grand alliance and returning to the NDA. In keeping with this trend, the opposition parties are hoping that Mr. Kumar, to send out a message to BJP, with whom he has had an uneasy relationship since the Bihar 2020 Assembly results, could vote with them. The JD(U) leaders remain tight-lipped about the party’s voting preference. The JDU (United) has 22,769 votes which will push the Opposition tally past the 4.5 lakh mark.
