The Election Commission will announce the schedule for electing the next president of India. The term in office of incumbent president Ram Nath Kovind is scheduled to end on July 24.
The lack of clarity on the prospects of renomination for Kovind had resulted in guarded speculation on whom the BJP could announce as its presidential candidate. Earlier this year, there were claims BSP chief Mayawati had run a muted campaign for the Uttar Pradesh polls as she had a 'deal' with the BJP to be projected as the presidential candidate.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav referred to these claims after the BJP won the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, though Mayawati declared she was not interested in the top post.
Learnt from a credible source that Janab Arif Mohammad Khan, present Governor of Kerala, is a strong contender for president of India. It's believable in view of steps .@narendramodi Ji is taking to counter anti-India narrative, getting built across the world because of fringies.
— Adv. Somnath Bharti: इंसानियत से बड़ा कुछ नहीं! (@attorneybharti) June 9, 2022
In recent days, there has been speculation by some political watchers a Muslim could be nominated by the BJP for the post. Twitter users have referred to the prospects of Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minister of Minority Affairs, after he was not renominated for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls. Another name that was talked about on Twitter is Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan.
On Thursday, AAP MLA Somnath Bharti tweeted that Arif Mohammad Khan was a “strong contender” for the post. Bharti tweeted “Learnt from a credible source that Janab Arif Mohammad Khan, present Governor of Kerala, is a strong contender for president of India. It's believable in view of steps .@narendramodi Ji is taking to counter anti-India narrative, getting built across the world because of fringies.”
Arif Mohammad Khan had earned a reputation as a voice of modernity among Muslims after he resigned from his ministerial post in the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1986 after disagreeing with the government's action in the Shah Bano case. Arif Mohammad Khan had been a vocal advocate for abolition of triple talaq.
The rumours of a Muslim presidential candidate come in the wake of a controversy generated by comments about Prophet Muhammad by BJP spokespersons.
On Tuesday, Arif Mohammad Khan had dismissed as “not important” the demand for a public apology that Qatar had made over the comments on Prophet Muhammad.
