Yashwant Sinha, the Opposition's presidential candidate on Monday, 18 July, appealed to all 'voters to listen to their conscience' ahead of the voting in the presidential election.
"I want to appeal to all voters to listen to their conscience. We all know party whips are not issued and it's a secret ballot. I expect people to use their discretion and vote for me to save democracy," Sinha said while addressing the media.
Sinha is competing against NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.
"I have repeatedly said that this election is very important as it will decide the direction as to whether democracy will remain in India or will slowly end. The indications that we are getting is that we are moving towards its end," he added.
He also said that he is not just fighting a political battle but a fight against government agencies too.
"Government agencies have become very active, they are causing split in political parties, they are compelling people to vote in a particular way and there is also a game of money involved," he added.
Polling for India's 15th president began at 10 am on Monday and will take place in Parliament and state Legislative Assemblies till 5 pm.
Sinha Launches Attack on Murmu
On Sunday, 17 July, Sinha also appealed 'to all members of the electoral college' to vote for him regardless of party affiliations. In his letter, he said that this election is not about the identities of the two candidates in the fray but about the ideologies and ideals they represent.
"My ideology is the Constitution of India," he added.
Sinha then went on to attack his rival candidate by saying that she is supported by those who are mounting daily attacks on democracy.
“My rival candidate represents those forces whose ideology and agenda, let's make no mistake, is to change the Constitution. I stand for safeguarding India's democratic system...My rival candidate belongs to a party that has made no secret of its resolve to destroy this pillar and establish majoritarian supremacy... My rival is backed by a party that practices politics of confrontation and conflict.”Yashwant Sinha, the Opposition's presidential candidate
He further highlighted that there is no party whip in the presidential election and appealed to all voters to vote for him. "I urge you, regardless of your party affiliations, to vote for me – TO SAVE THE CONSTITUTION, TO SAVE DEMOCRACY, TO SAVE SECULARISM, TO SAVE INDIA," he added.
Sinha started his presidential campaign on 28 June from Kerala and concluded it in Jharkhand on 16 July.
Parties Supporting Yashwant Sinha in Presidential Election
On Sunday, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) announced that it will vote for the Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the presidential election.
Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Communist Party of India (CPI) , Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), among others, have announced their support for Sinha.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)