India is all set to elect its 16th president on July 18 as the tenure of the incumbent office bearer, Ram Nath Kovind, comes to an end on July 24.
The polls will witness 4,809 electors, including lawmakers from both chambers of India's bicameral parliament, voting to elect Kovind’s successor.
As the polls fray gains momentum, at least 30 candidates confirmed their presidential runs as of Sunday.
Interestingly, among those running for president are a slum dweller from Mumbai. Also, there is a professor from New Delhi in the polls race.
Sanjay Savji Deshpande, a resident of the Amar Nagar Slum No 1 in Mumbai's Mulund suburb, was among those who filed their nomination papers days after the election was announced on June 9.
However, 64-year-old Droupadi Murmu, a female politician from a tribal community of Odisha, is almost certain to be elected.
Also Read : BJP nominates tribal, female politician for president
The possibility of this happening is so high as she has been picked as a candidate by Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which holds a majority in parliament and is likely to get the support of other parties in state assemblies.
If elected, Murmu will become the first tribal president and the second-ever female president.
Indian opposition parties said they would back Yashwant Sinha, a former BJP federal finance minister before he turned rebel, as their candidate for the presidential election.
Most of the nomination papers do not have the mandatory names and signatures of proposers and seconders or a bank draft of ₹ 15,000 as security deposit and are set to be rejected.
The Indian constitution provides a largely ceremonial role for the president, with the prime minister and his cabinet holding executive powers.
But the president has a key role during political crises, such as when a general election is inconclusive, by deciding which party is in the best position to form a federal government.