President Kovind gets 12 Janpath bungalow, to move in on July 25

The Centre recently allotted 12 Janpath, a palatial bungalow in the heart of New Delhi, to President Ram Nath Kovind. Kovind is expected to move into the government bungalow on July 25.

Massive renovation is being carried out ahead of the shifting under the supervision of Kovind’s daughter.

The development comes at a time when the BJP has announced Draopadi Murmu as its presidential candidate ahead of the elections to choose the next president of India. The Opposition has named Yashwant Sinha as its candidate.

Interestingly, the same bungalow where Kovind would move into, was occupied by Bihar leader Ram Vilas Paswan for more than two decades. After him, his son Chirag Paswan occupied it.

Also read: Yashwant Sinha is presidential candidate in largely symbolic fight

Kovind’s new neighbour would be Sonia Gandhi, who lives at 10 Janpath.

The Union Cabinet has resolved to allot the house to Kovind as a gesture of thanks to the outgoing President. It is a convention to allot a Type 8 bungalow to former Presidents.

On July 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will accompany Kovind from the Rashtrapathi Bhavan to 12 Janpath as a mark of courtesy.

It may be noted that there were two meetings between Modi and Kovind in the past one week.

In early April, Modi had assigned Home Minister Amit Shah to convey it to Kovind that the BJP is looking for a successor. In a rare gesture, three foreign visits for the outgoing President were organised by the Prime Minister Office in consultation with the External Affairs Ministry.