On paper, NDA candidate for the presidential election Ramnath Kovind is billed to get 98 votes to 21 of his opponent from UPA Meira Kumar in Telangana.
This was the assessment of all parties as they geared up for polling by holding separate meetings on Sunday. TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao presided over a meeting of party MLAs which was followed by a mock session on voting. The TRS MPs left for New Delhi to vote in Parliament.
Mr. Rao warned the MLAs that their votes would be invalidated if they marked the ballots wrongly. This would bring a bad name not only to the party but also to the State in its infancy. He expressed unhappiness that Health Minister C. Laxma Reddy and four MLAs had not attended the meeting. He later introduced the new leadership of the students wing of the party to the MLAs.
Mr. Kovind was assured of the support of 90 TRS MLAs, five of BJP and three of TDP in the 119-member Assembly. Ms. Meira Kumar would be backed by 13 MLAs of Congress, six of MIM and one of the CPI(M). The Congress asked all its 13 MLAs to reach Hyderabad by Sunday to be available for an informal meeting in the Assembly at 9 AM on Monday. The BJP legislature party held a meeting in the Assembly to discuss the relative strengths of Mr. Kovind and Ms. Meira Kumar in the State. The same was conveyed to the central leadership, BJP floor leader G. Kishan Reddy said.