B R Ambedkar’s grandson requests Yashwant Sinha to withdraw from presidential election

Just two days before the presidential elections, Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) president Prakash Ambedkar urged opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha to withdraw from the contest.

Prakash Ambedkar is the grandson of B R Ambedkar.

As several scheduled caste and scheduled tribal MPs and MLAs from various parties have declared their support for Draupadi Murmu, Ambedkar believes Sinha should withdraw from the poll.

“Requesting Mr. Yeshwant Sinha to withdraw from the Presidential race because many Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe members from across the parties are joining to vote in favour of Madam Draupadi Murmu,” he said in a tweet.

Requesting Mr. Yeshwant Sinha to withdraw from the Presidential race because many Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe members from across the parties are joining to vote in favour of Madam Draupadi Murmu. @YashwantSinha

— Prakash Ambedkar (@Prksh_Ambedkar) July 16, 2022

The election for the post of president is scheduled to be held on 18th July, where members or the parliament and state assemblies will vote. Current president Ram Nath Kovind’s tenure is ending on July 24.

Prakash Ambedkar's appeal to Yashwant Sinha comes as another setback for the opposition candidate, who had to cancel his visit to Mumbai after the Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray faction announced support for Draupadi Murmu. 

While Congress and the NCP are supporting Sinha, their ally Uddhav Thackeray said his faction of Shiv Sena will vote for Murmu because she is the first Scheduled Tribe woman to be nominated for president and many Shiv Sena members have urged to support her.

The NDA candidate has already received support from several non-NDA parties, including BJD, YSR-CP, BSP, AIADMK, TDP, JDS and Shiromani Akali Dal, and this have ensured over 60 percent vote share for her.