Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha to solicit votes from Kerala MLAs, MPs

Thiruvananthapuram: Yashwant Sinha, the joint opposition candidate for the presidential election, is commencing his campaign from Kerala on Wednesday.

"Kerala is a state that has always been close to my heart. The campaign would be off to a great start from Kerala," he said.

Sinha, who arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, is set to meet the MLAs and MPs of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) at the Assembly complex on Wednesday.

Sinha would meet the LDF MLAs and MPs at the Sankaranarayanan Thampi Hall in the Assembly at 2pm, and the UDF MLAs and MPs at 3pm. Though both the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF in Kerala support his candidature, they would be meeting Sinha separately.

However, not all MLAs will not be meeting with Sinha. Several State Ministers and legislators are in Malappuram to pay their last respects to former Minister T Sivadasa Menon, who passed away on Tuesday.

Some UDF MLAs have also left the capital in view of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Wayanad on Friday.

Opposition leader V D Satheesan and other UDF leaders had received Sinha at the airport on Tuesday, while Industries Minister P Rajeev met him at the Mascot Hotel.

The 16th presidential election is scheduled for July 18. The counting of votes is on July 21.

Another candidate in the fray is BJP's Draupadi Murmu.