Presidential election is war to uphold Mahatma Gandhi's 'ideology': Meira Kumar

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) presidential candidate Meira Kumar on Friday said the forthcoming Presidential election is a war to uphold the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi.

"I wish that the people of this region make progress. This is what Gandhi Ji wanted for the country and for the world. The war I am fighting right now is to uphold the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi. I am here to gain the strength to fight this war and have certainly gathered it," she said, after beginning her campaigning for the upcoming polls from Sabarmati Ashram.

Opposition Presidential candidate Meira Kumar filed her first nomination in the presence of Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and other senior leaders on Wednesday.

Before filing her nomination papers, she reiterated that it was upsetting for her to see that the bug of casteism is still feeding upon India, which otherwise wants to advance in all aspects.

"It is very upsetting, unfortunate that a country like India, which wants to advance in every aspect, is using a mentality, which is so narrow and dividing, that too also when we are fighting for presidentship," she said.

Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu also filed the fourth set of nomination papers on behalf of NDA's presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

The Presidential elections are set to take place on July 17 and counting will take place on July 24.