The 71-year-old low profile Dalit leader, a two-term BJP Rajya Sabha member, is seen as an astute choice by the saffron party, which has been targeted by opposition parties over Dalit issues, and his election is almost a certainty as the ruling bloc with the support of some regional parties enjoys a majority in the electoral college. K R Narayanan was the country's first Dalit president.

BJP President Amit Shah made the announcement following over two-hour long meeting of the party's parliamentary board, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior party leaders.

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Seeking support from opposition parties, Shah said Modi spoke to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought their support.

Top BJP leaders also spoke to various opposition parties and got in touch with their allies.

Parties say
The Congress spurned the BJP's appeal for consensus on its choice for President. The BJP had taken a "unilateral decision", Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said soon after the announcement of Kovind as the NDA's candidate for president.

"Congress does not want to comment on this issue as we want to take a unanimous decision with all other opposition parties on the presidential elections. The final call will be taken in a meeting of all opposition parties on June 22," Azad told reporters.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath asked opposition parties to rise above party politics and support Kovind for the post of President. "It is a new social awakening that a Dalit has been selected for the top most constitutional post of the country for which I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah on behalf of the people of the state," the chief minister stressed.

'Because of Dalit Morcha'
Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee claimed that the Bihar Governor was nominated only because he had been a leader of the BJP's Dalit Morcha in the past.
"The office of President is a key post. Someone of the stature of Pranab Mukherjee or even Sushma Swaraj or (L K) Advaniji may have been made the candidate.

"In order to support someone, we must know the person. The candidate should be someone who would be beneficial for the country. The opposition will meet on June 22, only after that can we announce our decision," the West Bengal chief minister said.