Presidential elections 2017: NDA to pick its VP candidate today

Voting for the presidential election is on Monday, and for vice-presidential election is August 5

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary board is slated to meet on Monday to pick the vice-presidential candidate of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Today, Opposition presidential candidate Meira Kumar and vice-presidential candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi met members of political parties supporting their respective candidatures.

Addressing the members, both Kumar and Gopalkrishna Gandhi stressed that while electoral college numbers are stacked against the Opposition but the battle was ideological and has brought together political parties from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the Constitution and the law of the land were “sadly under siege today”. “In these contests, the numbers may be against us. But the battle must be fought and fought hard. We cannot and must not let India be hostage to those who wish to impose upon it a narrow-minded, divisive and communal vision,” she said.

The voting for the presidential elections 2017 is on Monday, while that for vice-presidential election is on August 5.

The counting of votes for the presidential election is on July 20, and the new president will take the oath of office on July 25.

The BJP-led NDA was to announce its candidate on Sunday, but this has been postponed to Monday. Sources claim Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla and Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu are two of the aspirants. However, some consider Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao as the frontrunner.

But just as the name of NDA’s candidate Ram Nath Kovind was a surprise to many, including people in the NDA, so could be that of its vice-presidential candidate.

July 18 is the last day for filing of nominations for the vice-presidential election. Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi is likely to file his nomination papers on Monday.

The Opposition presidential candidate is being supported by 17 political parties, minus the Janata Dal (United). However, the JD (U) is supporting the Opposition’s vice-presidential candidate.

The NDA’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates are expected to win the polls comfortably.

Time not ripe for Prez poll but will support Opposition's Meira Kumar: AAP

BJP's Ram Nath Kovind to contest the election that is scheduled to take place on July 17

The AAP on Wednesday announced that it would support Meira Kumar, the opposition nominee for the presidential poll after the latter "appealed" to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to back her candidature.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the decision to support Kumar was taken by the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), the party's apex decision-making body, to "strengthen democracy".

"AAP will support joint opposition's presidential candidate Meira Kumar " senior party leader Ashutosh posted on Twitter.

On supporting Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the opposition's candidate for the vice presidential poll, Ashutosh said the PAC will discuss the issue later.

"We believe that a time should not have come for voting for a crucial post like the president. All political parties should have come together and put up a consensus candidate.

"Nevertheless, an election is taking place to choose the president. In such a scenario, the Aam Aadmi Party supports the joint opposition candidate," Singh said.

"Kumar had called up AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal seeking support," Singh added.

The presidential election is taking place on July 17. Ram Nath Kovind has been fielded by the ruling BJP and its allies.

Some opposition parties, including the JD(U), Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the YSR Congress and the Biju Janta Dal, have extended support to Kovind's candidature.

The Congress did not invite the AAP when it had held discussions with other opposition parties on the matter.

An AAP leader, who did not want to be named, said the party was "fine" with keeping a distance from the Congress.

The AAP is the principal opposition party in Punjab.

The four-year-old party has 85 MLAs and four MPs, which translates into around 9,000 votes in the electoral college for the presidential election.

Presidential Election 2017: National ideologies in danger, says Meira Kumar

Claimed that polls may stop danger that is lurking against country's 'principles and the ideologies'

The contest for the country’s highest office is a battle between two ideologies, the Opposition’s presidential nominee Meira Kumar said on Sunday claiming that the “principles and ideologies” on which the country was based were facing danger.

Kumar, who met leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana, to seek support, said in Srinagar that the Opposition wanted to make the presidential poll an election of principles.

“These are the principles which are close to my heart and to the hearts of most of the people of this country. India is united because we believe in these principles. There are so many religions in the country, so many cultures, ideologies and languages, but despite that, the country is united only because of these principles,” she said.

Kumar claimed that the Presidential Election 2017 was an opportunity to stop a danger that is lurking against the “principles and the ideologies” on which the country was based.

“Since some time now, a danger is lurking on these principles and ideologies and if that is not stopped immediately, then it is possible that the coming days will be lost in the dark,” she claimed.

Kumar said that she had written letters to all the members of the collegium – the MPs and the MLAs – irrespective of their parties asking them to listen to the voice of their conscience and support her.