New Delhi:The opposition camp comprising 17 political parties under the leadership of Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, brainstormed over fielding their presidential candidate against the ruling BJP, in New Delhi on Wednesday. But, the scope seemed to be still existing for the consensus candidate, as BJP's Rajnath Singh was making efforts to get in touch with members of the opposition group. BJP national president JP Nadda has also been asked to contact leaders from the opposition parties.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated to have good rapport with opposition leaders would be helpful in cutting the ice so that a consensus nominee could be declared for the presidential election. BJP's Rajnath Singh has contacted multiple party chiefs of the political parties so far, said sources. What will be the outcome of the opposition declaring the joint presidential candidature instead of going for a consensus candidate--only the time will tell--but, the Congress party seemed to be not on the same page with Mamata Banerjee as far as the national issues were concerned. Instead, the general perception was that if Congress takes the command then some of the political parties will come under the fold of United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
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On the other hand, it was being presumed that TRS, YSRCP, BJD, and Aam Aadmi Party will play the role of kingmaker in the presidential elections, but these parties will not lend their support to the opposition's presidential candidate, suppose Congress was leading the Opposition. Hence, the first meeting called by the opposition parties to decide on a candidate for the presidential election held in Delhi on Wednesday was led by Mamata Banerjee and NCP's Sharad Pawar, instead of the Congress party being at the forefront.
Besides, it was not just the UPA leaders, who started preparations for the presidential election slated for July, but also the NDA camp was alert enough to ask Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to seek an appointment with other constituents outside the NDA. As far as presidential poll arithmetic is concerned, Congress has around 23 per cent votes, while the NDA alliance has about 48 per cent votes, so the NDA appears to be in a stronger position. But, if the Opposition (read Congress party) becomes successful in bringing YSRCP, TRS, BJD, and Aam Aadmi Party into its fold that is UPA, then it will pose a challenge for the BJP-led NDA alliance.
There are 20 smaller parties under the NDA alliance, which together have 10,86,431 votes, which can translate into 5,35,000 votes. Hence, the NDA will need 13,000 more votes to make the presidential election in their favour. Nonetheless, BJP leaders were not ready to say anything on this issue, a senior national general secretary of the party, on the condition of anonymity, said that the parliamentary board of the party has been authorised to take a final call on this issue. "BJP leaders have been asked not to give remarks on a presidential candidate or opposition's nominee. Besides, party spokesmen have also been issued instructions to desist from giving such statements to the media."
