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Presidential election 2017: Mulayam Singh Yadav extends support to NDA’s presidential nominee
A news agency tweeted its talk with Mulayam in which he was quoted as saying, “The BJP has given a good candidate. I have a very old relation with him.”
Leader of the Samajwadi Party in Lok Sabha Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday said it was a foregone conclusion that the NDA’s candidate Ram Nath Kovind would be the next President of India.
A news agency tweeted its talk with Mulayam in which he was quoted as saying, “The BJP has given a good candidate. I have a very old relation with him.”
“BJP has the majority. If 1% or say 5% is required, BJP can manage it. I can’t say what the opposition will decide,” he said.
Read more| Presidential poll: Nitish Kumar to back BJP pick Ram Nath Kovind, says JD(U) MLA
Though Mulayam is no longer the national president of the Samajwadi Party and does not hold any constitutional position following the Yadav family feud, he is the leader of the party in Lok Sabha. The party has five MPs including Mulayam.
Earlier, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik extended full support to NDA’s presidential nominee, Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, saying that the decision to elect President is above political considerations.
Read more: Shiv Sena to back NDA candidate, Ram Nath Kovind, for president
“BJD has decided to extend its support to Kovind,” he said. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao also welcomed the NDA government’s decision.
