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A group of 17 Opposition parties has named former Speaker Meira Kumar as its candidate for President. The decision was unanimous. The Janata Dal (United) was absent at the meeting, having chosen to back the ruling NDA’s nominee Ram Nath Kovind.
Kumar’s name, which was proposed by NCP President Sharad Pawar, was accepted by all the other parties.
Other contenders
Other names considered included those of former MPs Prakash Ambedkar, Bhalchandra Mungekar and former Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. “We have decided to field Meira Kumar for the presidential election...We do hope that other parties also join us,” Congress President Sonia Gandhi told reporters after the meeting.
Dalit leaderThere has been a consensus within the Opposition that a leader from the Dalit or tribal communities should be fielded against Kovind. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said Kumar had all the qualities to take on the NDA nominee. Kumar had been a career diplomat, an MP, Minister and the Lok Sabha Speaker and would prove a good choice for the post, Azad said.
BSP supremo Mayawati, who had said her party is “positive” towards Kovind, said on Thursday that Kumar is “more capable and popular than the NDA candidate”.
Opposition leaders have also said that they will reach out to other parties, including to the JD(U), who decided to support Kovind the other day.
Why Kumar?The Opposition believes that Kumar’s social background will be helpful in their campaign against Kovind.
The daughter of former deputy prime minister and Dalit icon Babu Jagjivan Ram, Kumar lost the Lok Sabha elections from Sasaram in 2014. She entered politics in 1985 after resigning from Indian Foreign Service. She has been MP from Bijnore, Karol Bagh and Sasaram.
Hectic parleys were held among the leaders of Opposition before Kumar’s name was finalised. Senior Congress leaders Ahmed Patel and Azad met Pawar earlier on Thursday even as reports started coming out that the NCP too would support Kovind. Later, NCP MP Praful Patel said such speculations were baseless.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal, which was not present in the first meeting of the Opposition parties, was present on Thursday.
Leaders expressed confidence that Kumar can get support from various political parties given her stature in politics.
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