NDA candidate Draupadi Murmu on Wednesday appeared set to go on smoothly after garnering significant support from the BJD in the presidential election, but Yashwant Sinha, a undeterred opposition candidate, said she was fighting an ideological battle and was fighting a “rubber fight” in the country. -Stamp”. President”.
This includes 3,08,000 votes of MPs from the BJP and its allies. Among the voters, the BJD has around 32,000 votes, which is about 2.9 per cent of the total. BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is currently on a tour of Italy, appealed to all the members of the state assembly to support 64-year-old Murmu in the July 18 elections, calling her the daughter of the state.
On Wednesday morning, Murmu sought divine blessings before leaving for Delhi, as he cleaned the floor of a Shiva temple at his home in Rairangpur town, a non-tribal-dominated town in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, at the crack of dawn. It has been a daily ritual for him since he returned in August 2021 after retiring as the Governor of Jharkhand. As on other days, she offered prayers at the temple after bathing and whispered in the ears of Nandi, the bull ‘vehicle’ of Lord Shiva, which is a common practice in the region.
The temple was cordoned off by CRPF commandos after the Center provided them Z-plus security, soon after BJP president JP Nadda was nominated as NDA’s presidential candidate on Tuesday night. Officials said the threat perception security report posed by central security agencies formed the basis of the home ministry’s decision.
Hundreds of people gathered to greet Murmu at her home and later when she left for the 285 km journey to Bhubaneswar by car amidst the festive air. Congress Legislature Party leader Narsingh Mishra, however, said the BJP has fielded Murmu in the presidential election keeping an eye on the BJD’s votes in the electoral college.
He said that we cannot support him in the election even if he is a suitable candidate. Murmu, who will be the first tribal president and the youngest to hold the post if elected, is also likely to get support from other regional parties, including the AIADMK and YSRCP.
He is likely to file his nomination on June 24 and is likely to be joined by top NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sinha, who will file his nomination for the presidential election on June 27, held his first campaign strategy meeting at the NCP office in Delhi on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters, 84-year-old Sinha said that the presidential election is not a personal battle, but a battle of issues plaguing the country. “I am thankful to all the political parties that gave me a chance in the presidential election. This election is not a personal battle for me. There are issues that the country is facing, on which the electoral college has to decide.” The former Union minister, who broke ties with the BJP in 2018 and has been a vocal critic of the Modi government, said.
“We are going to campaign at different places in the country… We are strategizing for it. I congratulate Draupadi Murmu, but this is not me against her – it is an ideological contest. We have rubber-stamps. There should not be a President in the country,” he said. Leaders like KK Sharma (Nationalist Congress Party), Jairam Ramesh (Congress) and Sudheendra Kulkarni were present in the meeting held on Wednesday.
Sinha said in a statement that if elected, he will faithfully uphold the core values and guiding ideals of the Constitution, without fear or favour. He further alleged that the ongoing attacks on the federal structure of the Constitution, whereby the Center is “attempting to rob the State Governments of their legitimate rights and powers” would be considered completely unacceptable.
“I will raise my voice for the common people – farmers, workers, unemployed youth, women and all marginalized sections of the society,” Sinha said. BJP President JP Nadda also held a meeting with the party leaders involved in the voting process.
Both the candidates are likely to travel extensively across the country to seek the support of MPs and political parties. The BJP surprised former Jharkhand governor Murmu, a leader of the Dalit community, as the successor to President Ram Nath Kovind, and appears to have been successful in attracting fencers.
According to the latest official figures, the BJP has 393 MPs on its own, excluding four nominated Rajya Sabha members who cannot vote, out of the current strength of 776 members from both houses, giving it a clear majority. The BJP’s numerical advantage in Parliament, which has nearly half the vote in the electoral college, which includes all elected legislators, is further increased when the strength of its allies such as the Janata Dal (United), which has a total of 21 MPs, increases. , Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, Apna Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar expressed “delight” at the announcement of Murmu’s candidature.
“Many thanks to the Prime Minister for choosing a tribal woman who has proved her mettle as a minister in Odisha and during her governorship in Jharkhand,” the chief minister said in a statement. Kumar’s JD(U) is the second largest constituent of the BJP-led NDA.
The Bihar CM had supported the election of outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind in 2017 despite not being in the NDA, as his pitch for a second term for Pranab Mukherjee was ignored by the Congress-led UPA. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang backed Murmu, saying his party Sikkim Krantikari Morcha would unconditionally support him as an ally of the NDA with the belief that she would become the first president from a tribal ethnic group. Meanwhile, BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti urged Yashwant Sinha to withdraw from the race.
BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj Singh also urged Congress President Sonia Gandhi to support Murmu, saying there could not be a bigger example of empowerment of women and scheduled tribes occupying the top constitutional post of Odisha. Nominations can be filed till June 29 and the election results will be out on July 21.
If elected, Murmu will be the first person from Odisha to hold the top constitutional post. President Kovind’s term ends on July 24.
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