New Delhi: The opposition parties' meeting led by TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi on Wednesday decided to field a joint presidential candidate but were in a sort of disarray over who would they choose since former Union Minister Sharad Pawar, their favoured candidate, declined the offer.
The presidential election is scheduled to be held on July 18 as the tenure of President Ram Nath Kovind comes to an end on July 24. The election will witness 4,809 electors, including MPs and MLAs, voting to choose President Kovind’s successor. Leaders of 17 political parties attended the meeting called by Mamta Banerjee. KCR's Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Aam Aadmi Party were among the major parties that gave it a miss.
The party leaders present in the meeting may sit together for a second time in the national capital next week and discuss a potential name for the opposition’s presidential candidate. "I sincerely appreciate the leaders of opposition parties for suggesting my name as a candidate for the election of the President of India, at the meeting held in Delhi. However, I like to state that I have humbly declined the proposal of my candidature. I am happy to continue my service for the well-being of the common man," Pawar tweeted soon after the meeting ended.
Also read: Opposition to put up joint candidate for Presidential polls; Sharad Pawar declines offer
With Pawar sidelining himself, the other two names doing the rounds were former union minister Farooq Abdullah and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, a noted scholar and former West Bengal governor.
Farooq's name, however, was turned down by none other than his son and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah who was representing the National Conference in the meeting. The opposition leaders could not come to a consensus on Gopal Krishna Gandhi’s name. Gandhi, meanwhile, according to reports, has sought more time to think over the proposition while also seeking a consensus from all the parties.
Gandhi was the consensus opposition candidate for the post of Vice President of India in 2017 but had lost to veteran BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu in the election. However, he did succeed in getting support from the JD(U) and BJD, two parties that had supported NDA's Ram Nath Kovind in the presidential polls held around the same time.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) was in the opposition camp when it announced support to Gandhi and maintained its support even though he had joined hands with the BJP in the interim. Despite their clear numerical disadvantage, opposition parties have decided to field their own candidate for the election. Opposition's best hope, political watchers believe, is in a candidate whose appeal and stature may persuade some fence-sitters to support him or her and make the contest more interesting.
