Prez poll today: It’s Kovind vs Meira

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 16

Even as India readies to elect its new President tomorrow, mystery shrouds the BJP’s candidate for the Vice-President’s post, for which the last date of filing the nominations is July 18.

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The BJP Parliamentary Board is expected to meet tomorrow evening to pick the NDA’s vice-presidential candidate after the voting for the nation’s 14th President is over.

Apparently, the saffron party has planned it this way to avoid any unexpected distractions and glitches in voting for the President, which BJP chief Amit Shah wants NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind to win with a “a sizeable margin”.

Fielded by Congress and supported by Left and other Opposition parties in what they call as an “ideological battle” against the ruling BJP, Kumar is counting on members of the Electoral College to “heed the inner voice of conscience” while casting vote.

Both Kovind and Kumar are from the Dalit community and both insist that their caste has nothing to do with their nomination. But in this Dalit versus Dalit fight, the BJP took the Opposition by surprise by announcing its Dalit candidate first, leaving Congress and others with no other option but to follow suit. For the Vice-President, the BJP has taken its time, showing absolutely no urgency to beat the Opposition at the game.

Meanwhile, all arrangements are in place for the presidential poll that will take place in Parliament House and respective state assemblies between 10 am and 5 pm on Monday. Members of both Houses of Parliament and state Assemblies, including the National Capital Region of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry, will cast their votes.

The counting will take place on July 20.

The new President will take over on July 25, a day after the end of the term of President Pranab Mukherjee.

Ram Nath Kovind has the edge

• In the direct contest between Ram Nath Kovind and Meira Kumar, it is the former who has a definite edge due to support from several Opposition parties, including the JD-U
• The total value of votes of the Electoral College is 10,98,903 and BJP leaders have predicted ‘at least two-third’ of these to poll in Kovind’s favour
• Kovind has backing of the BJP and all of its allies besides several regional parties such as Nitish Kumar’s JD-U, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Telangana’s TRS, both factions of the AIADMK and the YSR Congress