Difficult times for Kovind to uphold Constitution, says Meira Kumar

New Delhi: The eighteen Opposition parties’ candidate for the presidential elections, Meira Kumar, congratulated President elect Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday.

After the results came out, the former Lok Sabha Speaker polled 1,844 votes with a value of 3,67,314 as against Mr Kovind’s 2,930 votes with a value of 7,02,044 (more than 65 per cent votes).

Speaking to reporters, Ms  Kumar said, “I congratulate Ram Nath Kovindji for becoming the President of India. My best wishes are with  Kovindji as it has fallen upon him to uphold the Constitution in letter and spirit in these challenging times.”

She added, “My fight for secularism, the oppressed and the marginalised continues. I thank all my well wishers for their support & good wishes.”

Ms Kumar thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other members of the Opposition parties who had fielded her as the consensus candidate.

The Congress claimed that Ms Kumar had secured the largest number of votes as an Opposition candidate since independence.

No other candidate who lost in the presidential elections had secured at least 34% of votes.

After Ms Kumar was chosen as the Opposition candidate, she had urged all the voters in the electoral college to vote as per the voice of their conscience. She had also traveled across the country meeting the electors.

During her campaign she said, “Ideology of social justice, inclusiveness, secularism, transparency, freedom of expression and press, poverty alleviation and total destruction of caste system binds India together. It is very important that we protect and preserve it.”

Both the treasury benches and the Opposition parties have termed the presidential election as a mature election in which no personal attacks were made on either of the candidates.