New Delhi: "This election will witness the conscience of the nation," Opposition-backed Presidential candidate PA Sangma on Friday said, contending that the contest has turned "very very serious" and was not just symbolic.
Sangma, the former NCP leader whose name was first propped up by chief ministers J Jayalalithaa and Naveen Patnaik, harped on to his favourite line of "conscience vote" and asked common man to "influence" their MLAs and MPs to vote for him.
Referring to a media report which reportedly said Pranab Mukherjee was campaigning while Sangma was "begging for votes", the former Lok Sabha Speaker said: "What a difference. I don't want to be subjected to dustbins. I am not begging for votes. I have full faith in the electoral college."
65-year-old Sangma was speaking to media at the Delhi BJP headquarters where he had come to seek the support of the party MLAs in the Presidential elections.
Congress took the 2012 Presidential elections very easily and even termed the contest as just "token and symbolic." "But now, after I entered, it is becoming a very very serious election. This election will witness the conscience of the nation. India has a conscience and that has to be proved once again on July 19," he said.
He also referred to former President APJ Abdul Kalam's statement that his conscience was not letting him to contest the Presidential poll. "BJP wanted him to be the people's candidate, but he refused. The country has a conscience."
Sangma also appealed to the common man to "influence" their MLAs and MPs and ask them to vote for him. "People have the power to influence their votes. Now, Presidential election has become a public issue. People are emotionally involved and we are heading for a change that will be for good," he said.
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