NDA Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. PTI photo
The Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh are likely to witness cross-voting in Monday’s polling for the post of President.
According to the sources, some legislators of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and BSP are likely to support the NDA’s nominee, Ramnath Kovind. While the division in the SP is quite clear, it is not visible in the BSP rank.
SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav and his father and SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav have taken diametrically opposite stand on the issue of Presidential polls. Both Mulayam and his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav have indicated that they would support Kovind. Akhilesh, however, has declared that he will back the Opposition’s nominee Meira Kumar. Shivpal claimed that several SP MLAs were with him, but did not reveal the exact number. Sources, however, said that around half a dozen SP legislators may ditch Akhilesh. SP has 47 members in the UP Assembly. The situation is somewhat different in the SP group in the Rajya Sabha.