TRS, YSRCP Support BJP Presidential Nominee Kovind

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the YSR Congress Party have conveyed their support for the BJP-led NDA's Presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind.

After a meeting of the BJP parliamentary party chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by BJP President Amit Shah in the national capital this morning, the name of Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind was finalized as NDA's nominee for the upcoming election for the President of India.

Soon after, the Prime Minister telephoned Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and sought his support for Kovind. KCR is understood to have told the PM that the TRS would extend its support to the NDA candidate.

Likewise YSRCP President Y S Jaganmohan Reddy too is understood to have conveyed his party's support for the NDA nominee.

Since the TDP is an ally of the BJP and constituent of the NDA sharing power at the Centre, its support is a foregone conclusion.

It is pertinent to note here that KCR during his last visit to New Delhi had promised the PM the support of the TRS for the NDA's Presidential nominee. However later clouds of suspense engulfed the issue following BJP President Amit Shah's visit to Telangana wherein he had launched a diatribe against the "family rule of KCR". This had created a heartburn in the ruling TRS. Apart from senior ministers and leaders of the TRS, even the Chief Minister took umbrage at Shah's utterances. To add to it, even the state BJP leaders began taking the TRS head on after Shah's visit. This triggered talks in political circles about the TRS' role in the Presidential election.

But suddenly there seems to have been a change of heart in the BJP both at the state as well as at the Centre, as its leaders started refraining from attacking the TRS and KCR. This led to speculation that this was mainly due to the upcoming Presidential elections. As expected, with the Prime Minister himself contacting KCR, and even attributing the choice of Kovind to KCR's suggestion to pick a Dalit candidate, the decks have been cleared for the TRS extending its support to Ram Nath Kovind.