Presidential candidates file their nominations

The race to elect India’s 13th president formally began yesterday with former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and his rival Purno Sangma filing their nominations for the July 19 contest.The result will be announced on July 22. While Mukherjee, the nominee of the ruling United Progressive Allinace, sought the “blessings of God and the co-operation of all” to get elected, Sangma termed his candidature “a victory of tribal unity.”Both Mukherjee and Sangma said they would start their campaign tomorrow, and expressed the hope that the mercurial West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would rally on their side. While opposed to Mukherjee, Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress party is a key partner of the UPA, has still not supported Sangma. “I only wish at this time that we have the blessings of God and the co-operation of all at this juncture,” Mukherjee told reporters.He thanked the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Shiv Sena for their support. “I was fortunate, honoured and humbled to be nominated by the UPA. The nomination was endorsed by a large number of political parties. I seek the support of all those, including the Trinamool, who have not yet decided,” Mukherjee said.He clarified that it was the 14th presidential election to elect the 13th president of the country as the first president, Rajendra Prasad, was elected twice to the country’s highest office.The nominations became an opportunity for the ruling UPA and the opposition to show their strength.Mukherjee was accompanied by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rashtriya Lok Dal’s Ajit Singh, Lok Janshakti Party’s Ram Vilas Paswan, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, Indian Union Muslim League’s E Ahamed and senior Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders.Supporting Sangma, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari and party leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley were present during his nomination.“Today is a victory of tribal unity, that a tribal is filing his nomination for the post of president,” Sangma said ahead of submitting his papers.Sangma clarified he was a candidate sponsored by the Tribal Forum of India, nominated by the chief ministers of Odisha and Tamil Nadu and backed by the BJP and other National Democratic Alliance partners.“I am very happy to get the support of such political parties - from tribal to that of northeast. It is insignificant where I am coming from,” Sangma said after filing his nomination. Sangma lamented that the Congress did not welcome the candidature of a tribal for the post of president despite the community having stood by the party.“We wanted to express that tribals in India have all along stood by the Congress. We had expected Congress would welcome our request. However, the Congress did not come out in support of tribals,” he said.“We sought an appointment to meet Congress president (Sonia Gandhi). We were asked to wait in the Central Hall (of parliament) consecutively for three days. But we could not get an appointment.”Before filing his nomination, Sangma added a bit of colour to his campaign by joining a group of tribal dancers who performed at the Constitution Club and played the drums to express their happiness.Rajya Sabha secretary general V K Agnihotri is the returning officer for the July 19 presidential poll, in which the UPA nominee appears to have an edge over Sangma. A veteran figure in the ruling Congress Party, Mukherjee’s popularity cuts across party lines, although he has recently faced sharp criticism over his stewardship of the faltering Indian economy. Although the president is India’s titular head of state, the post is largely ceremonial with real executive power residing with the prime minister and the cabinet. Indian presidents are selected by an electoral college comprising MPs from both houses of parliament and state legislatures.