Meira Kumar writes to electoral college, seeks support for Prez

Opposition's presidential nominee Meira Kumar on Sunday wrote a letter to the electoral collegium or college seeking support in the presidential elections that is scheduled to take place on July 17.

The electoral college is comprised of members of Parliament and state legislatures and it elects the President.

Asking the members to heed to their 'inner voice of conscience', Meira stated, "The President takes an oath to 'protect and defend the Constitution' - the backbone of our democracy. It is this Constitution that I and countless others have invoked to reinforce our democratic values. The Constitution recognises the office of the President as being the final touchstone for the passage of laws. It, therefore, cannot function to serve narrow political interests."

The Former Lok Sabha Speaker and Congress leader further added: "As an honourable member of the collegiums, you have the unique privilege to make history.Let us stand together, in spirit and action, to affirm our pledge to this sacred process . and to that guiding voice within us."

On Thursday, the Congress-led opposition nominated Kumar to face National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

The total vote value of the Electoral College is 10, 98,903. The vote weightage of an MLA depends on the population of the state he or she represents. A candidate needs 50 per cent plus votes to win the poll.

Many of the Opposition parties including the Janata Dal (Secular), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Communist Party of India and CPI (Marxist) are backing Kumar.

While Kovind, apart from the NDA allies, is being supported by major non-NDA parties like the JD-U, the BJD, the AIADMK, the TRS and the YSR-Congress.