NEW DELHI, June 23 - NDA�s presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind today filed his nomination papers, surrounded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 15 chief ministers and many union ministers, as the BJP put up a formidable show of strength to mark the occasion.
With more than 60 per cent of voters of the electoral college, which will elect President Pranab Mukherjee�s successor, having already pledged their support to him, Kovind�s election is virtually certain. But the BJP pulled out all the stops to make the occasion count.
This will be the first time that a BJP leader will occupy the Rashtrapati Bhawan � if all goes according to plan � as the party�s previous victorious presidential candidate, APJ Abdul Kalam, did not have a party background.
Representatives of 28 parties were there, too, BJP sources said, but its ally Shiv Sena was absent.
While Sena claimed it was not invited, BJP leaders blamed it on a �miscommunication�.
Sena leaders are among the proposers of Kovind�s nomination.
BJP veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, both of whom were seen as probables candidates for the high profile post, were also present. � PTI
