Oppn may propose a non-cong candidate
NEW DELHI: The presidential elections, usually a contest between the ruling alliance and the opposition, might see a power play within the opposition ranks this year. Some parties such as the Trinamool Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and the Samajwadi Party might propose a non-congress leader as a joint candidate.
“In 2017, the Congress decided to field former minister Meira Kumar as the joint candidate of the opposition parties and we all agreed to it,” a TMC leader said, declining to be named. “But this time, in current situation, I don’t think these parties will accept another Congress candidate.”
While all opposition parties are determined that the National Democratic Alliance’s candidate for the next President will not be allowed to be elected without contest, the choice of the candidate might be a tricky issue.
The Congress has lost much of its political grip over the opposition space due to its dwindling Rajya Sabha numbers and defeat in state assembly polls.
“We look at it in this way. The Congress has two chief ministers (in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan), the AAP too has two CMS in Delhi and Punjab,” the TMC leader said. “In the Rajya Sabha, the Congress has 29 seats. TMC, AAP, TRS and SP together have 32 seats.”
West Bengal CM Mamata
Banerjee is in talks with AAP, SP and TRS over the presidential polls, TMC functionaries said.
This group, however, is not counting on two other staunch anti-congress parties, Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal and Jaganmohan Reddy’s YSR Congress Party. These two are seen as pronda in Parliament and the opposition believes they will vote in favour of the official candidate in the upcoming presidential polls.
President Ram Nath Kovind’s term will end in July and elections are likely to be held in the second week of July. In August, the vicepresidential elections to elect the successor of incumbent Venkaiah Naidu will be held.
Discussions on the vice-presidential polls, in which only the MPS can vote, have not started yet, a non-congress opposition leader said, requesting anonymity.
The opposition’s choice will depend on the NDA’S candidate, a Congress leader said, indicating that the opposition will try to match the ruling dispensation’s political or social considerations.
The leader also hinted that if a suitable name is proposed by TMC or any other party, the Congress might not have any objection, “but we want to put up a serious fight against the BJP’S candidate in the presidential elections. So, the choice of the opposition candidate is important.” In 2017, Congressled opposition fielded former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as its candidate. The ruling alliance mustered 661,278 votes for Kovind, while Kumar got 434,241 votes.