Presidential election: Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind is NDA candidate

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today named Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as its presidential candidate.

The decision was taken in a top level BJP meeting in New Delhi today which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who was also reportedly considered for the top post.

"We have decided that Bihar Governor Ram  Nath Kovind would be our candidate for President," Amit Shah told reporters. "Ram Nath Kovindji has been working for Dalits and downtrodden since long," he added.

No decision has been taken over who would replace Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Amit Shah said.