Meira Kumar will be contesting Ram Nath Kovind for the president's post. (File)
Opposition's presidential candidate Meira Kumar will file her nomination papers on Wednesday, the last date of filing nominations. Sources in the Congress said the former Lok Sabha speaker will be accompanied by party chief Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh when she files her papers.
Leaders of 16 other parties who are vouching for Ms Kumar, including National Congress Party's leader Sharad Pawar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad are also expected to be present during the filing of nomination.
Ms Kumar will be contesting National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind who has already filed his nomination papers. The NDA has a clear edge in the election and Mr Kovind is widely expected to sail through.
Meira Kumar had on Sunday appealed to members of the electoral college to "heed the inner voice of conscience" while casting their vote in the July 17 election and said the President's office "cannot function to serve narrow political interests".
In a statement on Saturday, she stressed that the post of President of India is "not symbolic" and that "capability and experience must always supersede" every other consideration while choosing the person for the post.