Parties up the ante on eve of presidential poll
VOTE TODAY PM congratulates Kovind in advance; Sonia appeals to Oppn conscience
NEWDELHI: The warring National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Opposition parties intensified their campaigns a day before the country’s 15th presidential election on Monday, with leaders from both camps holding strategy meetings and trading allegations.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi led the Opposition’s onslaught at an inter-party meeting, where she asked members to cast “conscience votes” against a “narrow-minded, divisive and communal vision”. Gandhi told participants from non-NDA parties to “fight the battle and fight hard” despite the ruling dispensation seemingly having the statistical advantage.
The event was attended by the United Progress Alliance’s presidential candidate, Meira Kumar, and vice-presidential nominee, Gopal Krishna Gandhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for his part, raked up corruption-related issues to target the Opposition hours before Gandhi held the Opposition’s strategy meet. “Over the last few decades, the image of India’s political leadership has been at crossroads due to the deeds of some leaders among us. We need to convince the people that not every leader is tainted, and not every leader runs after money,” he said at an all-party meeting.
Later, Modi even congratulated NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind “in advance” and assured him of the ruling alliance’s support. Kovind and Kumar are the only candidates contesting this election.
Voting will begin at 10 am in the Parliament building as well as state assemblies across the country. The electoral college of the presidential election comprises 4,120 MLAs and 776 MPs with a total vote value of 10,98,903.
The NDA, which is supported by parties like the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress and the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti, is confident of obtaining more than 60% of the votes. The Opposition, on the other hand, has asked legislators to treat the presidential election like an ideological battle.
While Modi termed the “lack of bitterness” in the poll campaign as a sign of maturity in the Indian democracy, Gandhi made another attempt to woo voters by pointing at the BJP’s “communal agenda”.
“We cannot – and must not – let India be held hostage by those who wish to impose upon it a narrow-minded, divisive and communal vision. We must stand more aware than ever of who we are, what we fought for in our independence struggle, and what future we want for ourselves,” she said.
Gandhi said the presence of diverse Opposition parties such as the Left and the Trinamool Congress in the UPA camp goes to show that “the fight for an inclusive, tolerant and pluralistic India is truly being waged”. According to sources, the Congress is looking at this election as a possible stepping stone for forming a united Opposition in time for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
However, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar Kumar seemed undaunted. He said the road ahead for the BJP was “very clear” because 40 political parties, including nonNDA entities such as the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Biju Janata Dal, have already committed to Kovind. Opposition unity had suffered a jolt when JD-U chief Nitish Kumar switched sides and pledged his support to Kovind last month. As things stood on Sunday, the NDA looked set to get over 7 lakh votes while the Opposition seemed unable to cross 4 lakh.