Yashwant Sinha Thanks Opposition, Calls Presidential Polls "Big Battle"

Opposition Presidential election candidate Yashwant Sinha on Monday thanked the parties for choosing him as their candidate for the polls which he called a big battle.

"I'm thankful to all the opposition parties who came together and chose me as their candidate. It's being said that I am the fourth choice but I want to say even if I was at the tenth number, I would have accepted because it is a big battle," Mr Sinha told reporters.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, "All opposition parties unitedly supported Yashwant Sinha. Of course, we support the individual but the real fight is between two ideologies. RSS's ideology of anger and hatred is on one side, while the ideology of compassion of the other parties (Opposition) is on the other side."

"Over 17 parties are backing us. In order to save Indian democracy, and to defend our Constitution, we must all be united in our fight against BJP. We are all rooting for Yashwant Sinha," said Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge said.

Notably, Mr Sinha filed his nomination for the presidential election at the Parliament in Delhi, in the presence of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader and Telangana Minister K. T. Rama Rao, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

The election for the office of the President of India is scheduled for July 18 and the counting of votes, if needed, will be done on July 21.

TRS on Monday announced support for joint Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the upcoming Presidential polls.

Taking to Twitter, KT Rama Rao had written, "President of @trspartyonline Sri KCR Garu has decided to extend support to the candidature of Sri @YashwantSinha Ji in the election for President of India Along with our Members of Parliament, I will be representing the TRS at the nomination today."

Earlier on Friday, Yashwant Sinha promised to raise his voice for farmers, workers, unemployed youth, women, and all marginalized sections of society, if he wins the election.

In a letter to Opposition parties on Friday, Mr Sinha thanked them for choosing him unanimously as their common presidential candidate and assured them that he will conscientiously uphold, without fear or favour, the basic values and guiding ideals of the Constitution.

"I am overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude towards you and leaders of all the Opposition parties for choosing me unanimously as your common candidate to contest the Presidential Election, to be held on July 18, 2022. I thank you for the trust and confidence reposed in me. I assure you -- and the People of India --- that, if elected, I shall conscientiously uphold, without fear or favour, the basic values and guiding ideals of the Indian Constitution. In particular, as the Custodian of the Constitution, I shall not allow the light of democracy and secularism to be dimmed by the executive," Yashwant Sinha said in a letter.

Mr Sinha was named as the common candidate of the Opposition for the Presidential elections on June 21.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had made the announcement of his name as the presidential candidate of the opposition during a meeting.

The announcement came shortly after Mr Sinha hinted at the acceptance of the proposal by a section of Opposition leaders to make him their presidential candidate.

Yashwant Sinha had quit the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2018 and joined the TMC last year. He was later appointed as the party's vice-president.

However, NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu filed her nomination for the election on June 24.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)