Ex Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar Fielded Against Kovind For Presidential Candidate:- After having much hype over the Presidential candidate, the Opposition Parties have declared the name of former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as their Presidential candidate against NDA’s Ram Nath Kovind.

The decision was taken at the Opposition parties meeting headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi. Other prospective candidates in the fray were Dr B R Ambedkar’s grand son Prakash Ambedkar, ex-diplomat Gopal Krishna Gandhi and ex-home minister Sushil Kumar.

While the Left party leaders have leaned towards nominating  Ambedkar or Gandhi, Meira Kumar’s visit to the Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi’s residence, has fueled the debate that Sonia was willing to support her candidature.

Notably, Kumar is also a Dalit, a factor that had won support for Kovind. The background of the Dalit leader has made him a candidate, whom the political parties cannot afford to reject, even more so with his added credentials of being a reformer for the Scheduled castes and OBCs.

The name of Meira Kumar was “proposed unanimously” by the Opposition parties said Senior Congress Leader Gulam Nabi Azad. “ Miera Kumar, the daughter of freedom fighter Jagjivan Ram, is an experienced leader and has served in various capacities.”

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said that there were better and more known Dalit leaders than Ram Nath Kovind. The Opposition parties were shaken by the decision of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after he decided to back the National Democratic Alliance’s candidate on Wednesday.

SUPRAJA