Hindustan Times (Patiala)

Prez poll: Oppn meets, Centre dials key leaders

No candidate picked at meet organised by Mamata after Pawar declines; BJP leaders reach across the aisle to build consensus

- Saubhadra Chatterji, Smriti Kak Ramachandr­an and Deeksha Bhardwaj letters@hindustant­imes.com

NEW DELHI: The race to elect the next President heated up on Wednesday as several Opposition parties gathered at a meeting in Delhi, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reached out to top political leaders in an effort to build a consensus for the July 18 election.

Seventeen Opposition parties convened at a meeting called by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and said they will meet again next week to select a consensus candidate after Nationalis­t Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar declined to contest the poll. Six Opposition parties skipped the event, where Banerjee also proposed the names of former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, and former West Bengal governor Gopalkrish­na Gandhi as possible candidates.

“I sincerely appreciate the leaders of opposition parties for suggesting my name as a candidate… However, 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.

On the other side of the aisle, defence minister Rajnath Singh and BJP chief JP Nadda dialled the leaders of at least 12 parties to build a consensus. This included ally Nitish Kumar as well as Banerjee, Pawar, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik and Congress leader Mallikarju­n Kharge, among others. The BJP is yet to name its candidate.

The absence of six opposition parties bolsters the prospects of NDA, which is set to win the poll, while the Opposition has a slim chance of victory in the election, for which the results will be announced on July 21.

The Opposition’s first attempt to nominate a common candidate suffered a blow with the Aam Aadmi Party, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the BJD, the YSR Congress, the Akali Dal and the Sikkim Democratic Front skipping the meeting at Delhi’s Constituti­on Club.

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday reached out to its coalition partners and key Opposition leaders to elicit their support for the NDA’s presidenti­al candidate, who is yet to be named. Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and party president JP Nadda dialled the leaders of at least 12 parties to build a consensus ahead of the July 18 election.

A person aware of developmen­ts said Singh spoke to Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, Biju Janata Dal chief and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Mallikarju­n Kharge, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha president Shibu Soren, and Nationalis­t Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar.

Singh also spoke to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, whose Janata Dal (United) is an ally of the BJP and runs a coalition government with the party in Bihar. “The defence minister spoke to all these leaders on the phone,” the person quoted above said, requesting anonymity.

Nadda spoke to Meghalaya chief minister and National People’s Party chief Conrad Sangma, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Lok Janshakti Party leader Pashupati Kumar Paras and leaders of the All Jharkhand Student Union, Naga People’s Front and some independen­ts, said a second person aware of the details.

The NDA is close to a majority in the electoral college for the presidenti­al poll — which includes parliament­arians and members of state assemblies — and its candidate is almost certain to win when results are announced on July 21.

At least two Opposition parties, however, insisted on the BJP naming its candidate, said people aware of developmen­ts. A TMC leader said Banerjee asked Singh to cite a specific name so that the party could give its comment. “At the opposition’s meeting (to discuss the possibilit­y of a consensus candidate) Banerjee said she told Singh that who can be a better choice than [NCP leader] Sharad Pawar, so please consider…,” said the party leader who was present for the meeting. Pawar has already declined to be the Opposition’s nominee.

Kharge told reporters that he spoke to Singh and sought details about the candidate. He said Singh conveyed to him that the Prime Minister wanted to know his opinion, but added he did not get a response when he asked who the candidate was. “If we give a non-controvers­ial name, will the government accept it,” Kharge asked.

The BJP’s outreach came on a day several Opposition parties, including the Congress, the TMC and the SP, met in Delhi to deliberate on the choice of a nominee. At the meeting, a resolution was passed to name a consensus candidate for the presidenti­al poll.

Banerjee is learnt to have suggested the names of Farooq Abdullah and former West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who contested the vice-presidenti­al election unsuccessf­ully in 2017, but the BJP has kept its cards close to its chest.

On whether the suspense over the choice of candidate will affect the outreach, a BJP leader said the effort will be to elicit support for NDA’s choice, as was done ahead of the 2017 election. In 2017, too, Singh and then Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu met Congress president Sonia Gandhi to seek the party’s support but were told that in the absence of a name, the Opposition party would not be able to offer an assurance. The BJP’s pick, Ram Nath Kovind, eventually won comprehens­ively. For the poll, a formal notificati­on will be issued on June 15 and nomination­s have to be filed by June 29. The last date for withdrawal of candidatur­e is July 2. President Kovind’s term ends on July 24 and, according to the Constituti­on, a new President has to be appointed before his term ends.

 ?? SANJEEV VERMA/HT PHOTO ?? Opposition leaders at the Constituti­on Club of India in New Delhi on Wednesday.
SANJEEV VERMA/HT PHOTO Opposition leaders at the Constituti­on Club of India in New Delhi on Wednesday.

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