Meira Kumar was announced as the opposition parties candidate for the Presidential Polls due on July 17 against the NDA candidate, Ram Nath Kovind. Both the candidates belong to the dalit community and it has become more like a Dalit vs Dalit debate rather than the competing candidates for the post of President of India.
Meira started with her election campaign from the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Friday, committing to carry forward the principles of Mahatma Gandhi. She said that she got strength from his holy place and hence thought of starting her campaign from here. He also referred to the blessings she got in her childhood from Sardar Patel and that she wanted to pay a visit to the place before leaving the state.
Following on the footsteps of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, Meira Kumar has also written to the members of the electoral to listen to the inner vice before choosing the candidate as they might be the ones making new history. Giving the example of Indira Gandhi, Kumar said that in 1969 Presidential election, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi too had asked the electoral college to listen to their “conscience”.
Talking on the topic of being a dalit candidate, Meira expressed her disappointment, saying that from the time Ram Nath Kovind and herself have been nominated as candidates for the Presidential Polls, all their achievements have been kept aside and the only topic that is being discussed is the caste of both the candidates.