New Delhi: The opposition parties have decided to field a joint candidate for the upcoming Presidential polls. The decision was taken in the opposition leaders' meeting called by TMC leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Constitution Club of India here. Maharastra leader Sharad Pawar declined to be the opposition's presidential candidate, reiterating the stance he had made earlier even as all the opposition leader's wanted him to contest.
"Several parties were here today. We've decided we will choose only one consensus candidate. Everybody will give this candidate our support. We will consult with others. This is a good beginning. We sat together after several months, and we will do it again," Mamata Banerjee said while addressing a short press conference after the meeting.
"Opposition leaders adopted a resolution to field a common candidate in the forthcoming Presidential poll. A candidate who can truly serve as custodian of the Constitution and stop Modi government from doing further damage to Indian democracy and India's social fabric," said Sudheendra Kulkarni, former close aide to ex-PM Vajpayee and founder, Forum for a New South Asia.
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Sources said that at least 16 parties including Congress, CPI, CPI(M), CPIML, RSP, Shiv Sena, NCP, RJD, SP, National Conference, PDP, JD(S), DMK, RLD, IUML and JMM attended the opposition meeting convened by Mamata to deliberate on consensus presidential candidate. However, TRS, AAP, SAD and BJD skipped it. Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Singh Surjewala, PDP's Mehbooba Mufti, NC's Omar Abdullah, SP's Akhilesh Yadav, DMK's T.R. Baalu, Shiv Sena's Priyanka Chaturvedi, RJD's Manoj Jha and others attended the meeting to discuss a common opposition candidate for the President.
Earlier, Mamata Banerjee personally received former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav, Mehbooba Mufti and Congress leaders at the meeting venue. On Tuesday, Banerjee met NCP chief Sharad Pawar and CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury to deliberate on the issue of Presidential elections. Yechury along with D. Raja of the CPI and P.C. Chacko met Pawar where NCP leader Praful Patel was also present.
After the meeting, Yechury had said, "I have been informed that Sharad Pawar has refused to become an opposition candidate but have discussed some names and those are under consideration."
