The Congress, which had been dragging its feet over picking its candidate, has managed to keep together a chunk of the opposition with its choice of 72-year-old Meira Kumar -- the daughter of Dalit icon and former deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram. Ms Kumar, who is from Bihar, is a five-time Lok Sabha member and had been a minister in the UPA government. Later, she was chosen unopposed as the Speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha.


(Photo: Opposition's presidential candidate Meira Kumar with Congress president Sonia Gandhi)