New Delhi, July 17 (Representative) Two days ahead of the Presidential polls, Opposition’s Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha appealed to all in the electorate college to vote as per their conscience. Ahead of the Presidential polls where numbers are staked against Sinha, as many parties have extended support to NDA’s candidate Draupadi Murmu, Sinha appealed to all to vote as per their conscience.In a video message released on Twitter, Sinha said the Presidential election is not a contest between two individuals, but two ideologies. “Only one side wants to protect the provisions and values enshrined in our Constitution. I appeal to all MPs and MLAs to vote according to the Constitution and their conscience this time”.
“The President’s election this time in India is taking place under extraordinary circumstances. The country is facing multiple problems on various fronts. But the most important problem that we are facing is the problem of safeguarding and protecting our Constitution,” Sinha said. He said the Constitution is being violated by ‘certain people’ and governments are being brought down, which is against the spirit of democracy. “I appeal to you to exercise your vote according to your conscience. The Constitution provides that the vote will be secret and there will be no party whip, which means you will have to determine what and who you have to vote for,” he said.
Several Opposition parties came together and announced Sinha as their joint candidate for the Presidential polls. Soon after, BJP announced former Jharkhand governor, a tribal leader from Odisha Draupadi Murmu, as it’s candidate.From the Opposition’s camp, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has announced support to Murmu, as have several MPs and MLAs of Shiv Sena. In Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party ally Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) has also extended support to Murmu. Aam Aadmi Party announced its support to Sinha today. In the South, while DMK and TDP have supported Sinha, the YSRCP and TDP have supported Murmu.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also said recently that had she known Murmu would be the candidate, her stand on Presidential polls could have been different. The Presidential poll is scheduled to be held on July 18 and counting of votes will take place on July 21.