Yashwant Sinha’s appeal ahead of Presidential poll: ‘Vote according to Constitution, conscience’

Remarking that democracy stands “ruined” in India, Sinha said, “This year the Presidential election is not a contest between two individuals but two ideologies.”

This year the Presidential election is not a contest between two individuals but two ideologies. Only one side wants to protect the provisions & values enshrined in our Constitution. I appeal to all MPs & MLAs to vote according to the Constitution and their conscience this time. pic.twitter.com/vemPHvdaPf

— Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) July 16, 2022

Sinha, who was a cabinet minister during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure as the prime minister and an MP from Hazaribag, met Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in Ranchi and sought the party’s support. He also attended a Congress legislators’ meeting ahead of the July 18 presidential polls.

“When I started the campaign (for the presidential poll) last month I had said that democracy is in danger. But now when I am concluding the campaign today, I can say that the democracy stands ruined in the country,” news agency PTI quoted Sinha as saying at a press conference later.

“I appeal to the voters (the electoral college) to exercise their franchise after listening to the voice of their conscience,” he said.

JMM, which runs a coalition government with the Congress and RJD in the tribal state of Jharkhand, had initially backed Sinha. However much to the embarrassment of the coalition partners, it later pledged its support to NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, who had earlier been a governor of Jharkhand. She is a Santhal like Soren and if elected, will be the country’s first tribal woman president.