Why is Presidential election being seen as Dalit vs Dalit fight?

After the NDA announced Kovind's candidature, it was seen as the government's bid to reach out to Dalits. To counter NDA's move and give a tokenism fight, the Opposition named Meira as its nominee.

Published: June 26, 2017 11:57 AM IST

By Priyanka Rathi

Meira Kumar - Ram Nath Kovind
Meira Kumar - Ram Nath Kovind

New Delhi, June 26: The election to the top post in the country is now being seen as a fight between two Dalit leaders — Ram Nath Kovind and Meira Kumar. While the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance has fielded former Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind, former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar is the Opposition’s candidate in the Presidential election. The election will be held on July 17 and the result will be declared on July 20.

President is the titular head of the state, who enjoys certain powers and performs a variety of ceremonial functions. The President has executive power, legislative powers, military powers, diplomatic roles, judicial powers, financial roles and emergency powers.

After the NDA announced Kovind’s candidature, it was seen as the government’s bid to reach out to Dalits. To counter NDA’s move and give a tokenism fight, the Opposition named Meira as its nominee. Both the nominees have rich political experience and have risen through ranks.

Kovind is a Kanpur-born former lawyer and is known for his organisational skills and is a loyal member of the BJP. Kovind, a commerce graduate who also studied law at Kanpur University, practised in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. He was also the Central government’s standing counsel in the apex court from 1980-93.

He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 1994 from Uttar Pradesh and he has served two consecutive terms till March 2006. He joined a stir by SC/ST employees in 1997 when Dalits and others protested against orders issued by the Central government, which were rescinded by Atal Bihari Vajpayee when the NDA came to power.

The Opposition’s nominee Meira is the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha, a former Union Minister and has held senior organisational responsibilities in the Congress, including as General Secretary. Daughter of freedom fighter and former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram, Meira studied law and pursued her Master’s after graduating in arts.

She joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1973 but resigned after being asked by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to contest the Lok Sabha by-election from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh. She has been elected to the Lok Sabha five times and from three different constituencies — Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, Karol Bagh in Delhi, and Sasaram in Bihar.

She served as the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment between 2004 and 2009. She was Congress General Secretary from 1991-92 and 1996-99. She has been a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party.

Apart from NDA, Kovind enjoys support of many regional parties making the election a cakewalk for him. Kovind is set to get around 7 lakh votes which is around two-thirds of the total 10,98,903 votes of the electoral college. Meira is likely to bag around 4 lakh votes despite the support of many regional parties like the RJD, traditional rivals the SP and the BSP and the TMC and the CPI-M.

With strong credentials, the Presidential election 2017 is more than just a Dalit versus Dalit fight.

With inputs from Agencies

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