Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar Congress-led opposition’s Presidential candidate

New Delhi: Congress-led opposition on Thursday announced former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar as its presidential candidate.

This decision was taken in a crucial meeting of opposition parties which was attended by leaders of 17 parties at Parliament House in Delhi chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Prominent among those who attended the meeting held in the Parliament House Library were Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge and Ahmed Patel, besides NCP’s Sharad Pawar and RJD’s Lalu Prasad.

Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja, DMK’s Kanimozhi and National Conference’s Omar Abdullah also attended the meeting.

Meira Kumar is a five-time Member of Parliament. She was elected unopposed as the first woman Speaker of Lok Sabha and served from 2009 to 2014. She is a lawyer and a former diplomat.

Earlier, NDA had announced Ram Nath Kovind as its candidate for the upcoming Presidential polls.

Notably, President Pranab Mukherjee’s term ends on July 24. Voting for the next president is scheduled on July 17, while the counting will take place on July 20.