ITANAGAR, Jul 6:NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind today said that the president's post is above politics and his effort will be to take every state in the country towards prosperity.

A president never belongs to any party. All people irrespective of caste, creed and religion, state are equal.

Vote bank is not important for me but development matters, Kovind said addressing BJP legislators here.

Kovind, accompanied by union ministers Raj Narendra Singh Tomar and Kiren Rijiju, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, Lok Sabha MP Ram Vichar Nittam and North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor Himanta Biswa Sharma, arrived here in the morning for a day-long visit to garner support of the MLAs of Arunachal Pradesh.

He said his dream is of a developed India and equitable development for all sections of the people and regions. Equality among states and people should be the mantra so that the country develops.

Appreciating the people of the state for their skill in speaking Hindi, Kovind said "I feel like I am with the people from my home state Uttar Pradesh.

"Arunachal Pradesh with its rich cultural heritage may be a small state, but for me it is equally important like UP and other states of the country," he said adding the isolation syndrome of the people of the North East has been removed after NDA came to power at the Centre.

Kovind also convened a separate meeting with the nine legislators of People Party of Arunachal (PPA), a constituent partner of NEDA, where the MLAs extended their support to him.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu said that though the vote value for Arunachal is eight against one vote in comparison to UP where it is 208 against one, all the 47 BJP legislators including two independents and nine PPA MLAs would vote for Kovind ensuring his victory.

Khandu lauded Kovind for beginning his north east visit from the state and urged him to give more focus on NE especially Arunachal Pradesh keeping in mind the state s strategic location.

Calling the visit of Kovind as ‘historic’, Chief Minister Pema Khandu said this is the first time in history of Arunachal Pradesh that a Presidential candidate has made a visit to the state prior to the election to Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Khandu further assured full support of his 47 BJP and two independent legislators for NDA’s Presidential Candidate in the election to be held on July 17. He thanked thestate’s 9 PPA legislators who have also extended their support to Ram Nath.

Earlier, Tomar said that many political parties who are not with NDA are supporting Kovind, while Rijiju said that it was for the first time that a presidential candidate visited Arunachal Pradesh as earlier all the decisions were taken only in Guwahati.

Madhav urged the legislators to ensure their presence in the state capital on the voting day.

The vote of thanks was delivered by State BJP President Tapir Gao.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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