Presidential election: BJP hopes cross-voting; Meira Kumar appeals to TN MLAs, MPs to heed to 'inner voice'

New Delhi: Opposition's Presidential nominee Meira Kumar appealed to all the MLAs and MPs from Tamil Nadu to listen to their "inner voice" when they cast their votes in the presidential poll. She urged them to support her in "this ideological battle". "I am fighting an ideological battle," she told reporters after a meeting here with MPs and MLAs of DMK, Congress, IUML and the Left parties. She said the collegium members should only listen to their inner voice and conscience and act. "This is my request to everyone." Meanwhile, if reports are to be believed, the Aam Aadmi Party may back Congress-led Opposition presidential candidate Meira Kumar, party sources said even as they ruled out support to NDA's pick Ram Nath Kovind. The AAP has been holding parleys with the Left parties, and Trinamool Congress to arrive at a decision. "There is no question of supporting (Narendra) Modi's candidate. We may support Meira Kumar but we are yet to take a decision," said an AAP leader, on condition of anonymity. However, the leader downplayed Congress not inviting the AAP to the discussions that were held with many opposition parties before Kumar's candidature was announced. He said the AAP was "happy" to maintain a "distance" from the Congress. AAP is the principal opposition party in Punjab, where Congress is in power. In the 2013 Delhi Assembly polls, the AAP defeated Congress and ended its 15-year rule in the national capital. As Delhi's ruling party and Punjab's principal opposition, the AAP has four MPs in the Lok Sabha, and 85 MLAs, which translates to around 9,000 votes in the electoral college. On its part, the BJP expects cross-voting from opposition ranks, especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, in favour of NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind. The internal bickering in the Samajwadi Party, some of whose MLAs owe allegiance to Mulayam Singh Yadav and his brother Shivpal Yadav, coupled with the fact that Kovind is a son of the soil could nudge a section of its lawmakers to vote for him, sources said. Mulayam, a Lok Sabha MP, had expressed his support for Kovind after he was declared the NDA's candidate. The recent meetings of Shivpal, who is opposed to the leadership of party president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has fuelled speculation about his future move. BJP sources involved with the Kovind's campaign said they expected some lawmakers from the SP to vote for him. With the Mayawati-led BSP staring at an uncertain future, some of its law-makers too can defy her support for the opposition's candidate Meira Kumar and instead vote for Kovind.