JD(U) and some other opposition parties later blamed Congress for delaying a decision on the nominee for President.A retired IAS officer and diplomat, Gandhi is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and C Rajagopalachari, the last governor general of India. His name was discussed as the opposition candidate for President too before former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar was chosen to counter Kovind's Dalit credentials. The Left parties — CPM and CPI — backed Gandhi, and JD(U), whose Sharad Yadav was seated beside Congress president Sonia Gandhi, also supported the nomination. Though the odds are stacked in favour of the NDA nominee, the opposition parties insisted this was an ideological fight that they wanted to contest. The opposition parties also unanimously condemned the attack, only the second such attack to have taken place after 2000.

Source: Times of India July 11, 2017 21:30 UTC