Prez polls: PM Modi congratulates Kovind 'in advance', Sonia Gandhi demands a vote of conscience

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind "in advance" and assured him of his government's support, a day before the election to the top constitutional post.

At a meeting of the NDA MPs which was also attended by Kovind, Modi recalled that the former Bihar governor had worked as a 'sahyogi' (aide) of Morarji Desai when he was the prime minister and said this government will offer all 'sahyog' (cooperation) to him. Kovind's win against opposition candidate Meira Kumar is a foregone conclusion as the ruling coalition has secured the support of nearly two-thirds of the electoral college, with some political parties even outside the NDA fold throwing in their weight behind him.

Quoting Modi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the prime minister also offered his congratulations in advance to the Dalit leader. Kumar also made light of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's call to MPs and MLAs for "vote of conscience", saying 40 political parties have supported Kovind's presidential bid and non-NDA chief ministers of states like Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Odisha have also announced their support for him. "The way ahead is very clear," he said, underlining the clear majority enjoyed by the NDA candidate.

On the occasion, BJP MP Bhupender Yadav made a presentation to the MPs about the voting process to ensure that they vote correctly. Modi highlighted that the campaigns by the two presidential candidates and parties supporting them had been very dignified and showed the maturity of the Indian democracy. During the meeting, he also noted that 75th anniversary of the Quit India movement falls on August 9 and told the MPs that country-wide events to mark the occasion should be held between August 9 and 15.

He pitched for discussions and programmes for five years till 15 August 2022, the 75th Independence Day, aimed at pro- poor programmes and a good governance agenda. The prime minister, Kumar told reporters, also noted that the advent of the year 2018 will mark the enrolment of "new millennial voters", those born in 2000 and after, and said they should be welcomed and made aware of their responsibilities. Besides Kumar, BJP chief Amit Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addressed the MPs. 

Numbers stacked against us: Sonia Gandhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said on Sunday the presidential election tomorrow demands a "vote of conscience" as it represents a clash of ideas and conflict of disparate values. She also described the electoral contest as the opposition's fight against a "narrow-minded, divisive and communal vision" while addressing a gathering of opposition parties here where its presidential and vice presidential nominees, Meira Kumar and Gopal Krishna Gandhi respectively, were formally introduced.

"We must have confidence in the values we believe in. This election represents a clash of ideas, a conflict of disparate values. The election demands a vote of conscience to preserve the India that the Mahatma and the illustrious generation of freedom fighters, joined by thousands upon the numbers of ordinary men and women, fought for," she said. The UPA chairperson said the numbers may be stacked against them, but "the battle must be fought and fought hard". "We cannot and must not let India be hostage to those who wish to impose upon it a narrow-minded, divisive and communal vision," she said.

According to the text of her speech, she said, "We must stand more aware than ever of who we are, what we fought for in our Independence struggle and what future we want for ourselves." She said the presence of representatives from different parties to support Kumar and Gopal Gandhi confirms that "the fight for an inclusive, tolerant and pluralistic India is being truly waged". The vice presidential poll will be held on August 5. The JD(U), which skipped the all-party meeting convened by the government this morning, stayed away from the opposition event too.

"We know Meira Kumar as the former speaker. But many had not met Gopal Gandhi. It was a sort of formal introduction with them," said CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury. andhi said Kumar and Gopal Gandhi have, with tremendous dignity and commitment, distinguished themselves throughout their long careers. "Through their work and their lives they have also advocated those very values and principles that have defined and guided India for the last 70 years," she told the gathering.