BJP reaches out to Oppn to build consensus on Prez poll
Smriti Kak Ramachandran
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 noncontroversial 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.