The NDA is short of the halfway mark and expected to get the support from Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress and Naveen Patnaik’s BJD
Amid move to forge opposition consensus for a common candidate, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has indicated that he isn’t keen to become the presidential candidate.
Pawar has indicated that he is not in the race to become the President, sources in the NCP said. However, they added that the NCP chief has not explicitly said anything on the issue.
The statement comes after Congress expressed support for Pawar as the joint opposition candidate for the upcoming presidential elections. The party has conveyed its support to Sharad Pawar to its allies whereever the party is in the government.
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Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge met Sharad Pawar last Thursday, with a message from party chief Sonia Gandhi. The two leaders met in Mumbai. AAP leader Sanjay Singh also reportedly called the NCP supremo on Sunday.
An NCP leader said that Pawar will enable a dialogue among the opposition parties to ensure unity between them. Meanwhile, Pawar is already in Delhi to attend a meeting.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has also reached out to the opposition chief ministers and leaders for a joint meeting in Delhi on June 15. She will arrive in Delhi on Tuesday and hold meetings in view of the Presidential election.
A Times of India report quoted sources as saying that Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is also a viable choice.
“The general feeling was that the opposition will put up a consensus candidate despite the lack of adequate numbers…BJP alone has 300 members in the Lok Sabha, which is a huge number,” he said.
The NDA is short of the halfway mark and expected to get the support from Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress and Naveen Patnaik’s BJD. Reports said that the BJP government also has the option to renominate Ram Nath Kovind or chose Venkaiah Naidu.
However, Pawar, a stalwart in the opposition rank, can upset the equation of the ruling party which is hoping to get support of other smaller parties.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi reached out to the NCP chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other opposition leaders over the upcoming Presidential election. She talked to various opposition leaders on Saturday.
“Congress President Sonia Gandhi had reached out and deliberated the issue of the upcoming Presidential election with Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee and some other opposition leaders,” said a statement from the Congress.
