Meira Kumar to be Oppn candidate against Ram Nath Kovind

22 June, New Delhi

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will be the opposition candidate against BJP’s Ram Nath Kovind in the Presidential elections, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said here Thursday.

Ms Gandhi made the announcement sitting along with a galaxy of opposition leaders including NCP chief Sharad Pawar, CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh among others.

Tmeeting attended by 17 political parties including the Left, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, BSP, DMK and National Conference.

“The decision was unanimous,” CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said even as there have been reports earlier that the Left parties were in favour of either Prakash Ambedkar or Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Talking to reporters, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said: “There could not have been a better candidate than Meira Kumar for the post of President.”

Meira Kumar, a Dalit from Bihar, is daughter of former Deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram. A lawyer and a former diplomat, she was the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha.