Presidential poll: JMM, AAP missing; Yashwant Sinha files nomination

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 27

The joint opposition presidential election nominee Yashwant Sinha on Monday filed his nominations in the presence of senior opposition leaders.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, leader of the ruling alliance of which Congress is a part in Jharkhand, was absent from the process so was Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party.

Sinha, 84, filed his papers flanked by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah, TMC's Abhishek Banerjee, CPM's Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D Raja, RSP's NK Premchandran, CPIML's Deepankar Bhattacharya, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD's Misa Bharti, RLD's Jayant Choudhary, DMK's Tiruchi Siva and IUML's Mohammad Bashir.

The TRS, which announced support to Sinha last night, was represented by working president KT Rama Rao.

Sinha's candidature was backed by the Congress, NCP, TMC, CPM, CPI, RSP, SP, NC, AIMIM, RJD, CPIML, AIUDF and the DMK in the June 21 meeting. Pawar had claimed that day that he had the assurance of support for Sinha from AAP, TRS, SP and RJD.

While the TRS, RJD and SP came today, AAP remained away.

The JMM for its part is yet to decide on whether to back NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu, former Jharkhand governor and the first ever tribal leader to be nominated for the post.

JMM chief and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren has said he would take a call after meeting home minister Amit Shah "to discuss some issues of the state."

Sinha filed four sets of papers and handed them over to returning officer for the election, Rajya Sabha secretary general PC Mody.

He was flanked by Pawar and Rahul Gandhi.

After filing his papers, Sinha paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar at their statues inside the Parliament House complex.

Sinha, an IAS turned politician, who served as a minister of finance and external affairs in the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government, has decided to continue his fight despite the numbers stacked in favour of Murmu.

He will launch his campaign from June 28 from Chennai in Tamil Nadu after the plans for a launch from Jharkhand, his home state, went awry due to JMM's indecision on supporting his candidature.

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