Education in his village Ram Nath Kovind's pet theme of development

NEW DELHI: NDA's presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind was never angry or vengeful as a Dalit leader but believed in mobilisation, acting as a silent crusader for the uplift of his community.

As Rajya Sabha MP, Kovind's pet subject was expanding education facilities in rural areas. His MPLAD spending details show that during his 12 years as MP , the maximum resources were allotted for education in villages of his home state of Uttar Pradesh.

He had once demanded that Rs 1,000 notes should have Bhimrao Ambedkar's photo. The NDA nominee had al so sought restrictions on broadcast of adult content on television and had opposed SCST status for converts to Christianity .

Despite being a full-time BJP leader -he was chief of the party's Dalit Morcha -Kovind essayed a non-partisan role as Bihar governor at a time when Raj Bhavans have been increasingly accused of betraying political leanings.

"I am bound by the Constitution of India. No other consideration matters to me," Kovind had said when journalists asked him whether he would confront the Bihar government when he took over as governor in 2015.

His stint as governor was characterised by cordial relations with chief minister Nitish Kumar and other members of the Bihar government. Kumar was the first to call on Kovind once the latter was declared the NDA's presidential nominee. Despite differences with the BJP and be ing in alliance with the RJD and Congress in the state, Kumar's JD(U) has formally announced support for him.

"Kovindji used to go by rules and never entertained lobbying by politicians. Soft spoken and accessible to all, he used to attend public programmes and took decisions on his own as per the rule book. He has all the virtues of becoming a great President," senior BJP leader Sushil Modi said.

One of the unique practices Kovind started as governor was to invite members cutting across party lines for breakfast. These all-party breakfasts marked a paradigm shift in the state's politics. A group of MLAs-MLCs would be called over along with a set of fixed invitees, which would include the CM, ministers, Speaker of the assembly , chairman of the legislative council and leaders of opposition in both Houses.

As governor, Kovind introduced transparency in the process of appointing vicechancellors. This is important as the Supreme Court had quashed appointments of vice-chancellors in Bihar citing errors in the manner in which they were appointed in 2012 and 2013.

He also reformed the academic calendar of universities, ensuring that it was strictly followed. Convocation ceremonies that were not held for years began to be held under his watch.