Just two before the presidential elections, Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi president Prakash Ambedkar appealed opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha to withdraw from the contest. Prakash Ambedkar is the grandson of B R Ambedkar.
Ambedkar said that as many scheduled caste and scheduled tribe MPs and MLAs from across parties have declared their support for Draupadi Murmu, Sinha should withdraw from the election. “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 urging Yashwant Sinha comes as another jolt for the opposition candidate, as he had to cancel his scheduled visit to Mumbai for campaigning after Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena announced support for Draupadi Murmu. While Congress and NCP are backing Sinha, their ally Uddhav Thackeray said his faction of Shiv Sena will vote for Murmu because this is the first time that a Scheduled Tribe woman has been nominated for the post of president, and many Shiv Sena activists had urged to support her.
Today Aam Aadmi Party announced its support for Yashwant Sinha. The party said that they respect Draupadi Murmu, but they will be voting for Sinha. He has already secured the support of Congress, NCP, TMC, SP, National Conference, CPI, CPI-M, AIMIM, RJD, and AIUDG among others. But Draupadi Murmu is set to win the elections, as she has the support of more voters.
Apart from the votes of NDA parties, she will also get votes from several other parties. 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% vote share for her. Apart from these supports, cross voting from other non-NDA parties is also expected, especially from SC and ST lawmakers.