Nadda, Rajnath to hold talks with allies, Oppn
KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: A day after West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee wrote to Opposition leaders and chief ministers, calling for a meeting to discuss the election for the President’s post, some leaders said they would not to be able to attend the event, while others said they were still deliberating on the matter.
On Saturday, Banerjee wrote to 22 regional leaders and CMS, calling for a meeting on June 15 at Delhi’s Constitution Club.
In the one-page letter, Banerjee wrote: “A nation with a robust democratic character requires a strong and effective Opposition. All progressive forces in this country need to remain aligned and resist the divisive force that is plaguing us today. Opposition leaders are being deliberately targeted by different central agencies, the country’s image is maligned internationally and bitter dissensions are created within. It is time we strengthen our resistance.”
TMC leaders in West Bengal said that it was “still too early” to gauge the response to Mamata’s outreach. “The letter was sent on Saturday afternoon. It is too early. We have time. I do not know if any leader has personally replied to Banerjee,” TMC national spokesperson Sukhendu Sekhar Roy told HT at 5pm on Sunday.
The chief ministers Banerjee wrote to are Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), Naveen Patnaik (Odisha), K Chandrashekar Rao (Telangana), MK Stalin (Tamil Nadu), Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), Hemant Soren (Jharkhand) and Bhagwant Singh Mann (Punjab).
The other leaders include Lalu Prasad, D Raja, Sitaram Yechury, Akhilesh Yadav, Sharad Pawar, Jayant Chaudhary, HD Kumaraswamy, Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba
Mufti, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Pawan Chamling and KM Kader Mohideen.
Asked for response on whether Kejriwal and Mann would attend the meeting, a party spokesperson indicated that the AAP may not do so. “AAP will not attend this meeting,” a leader said, asking not to be named. The AAP functionary did not cite any reason for the party planning not to join the meeting.
In Tamil Nadu, the DMK said they were interested in principle for the meeting, but their attendance may depend on the Congress’s plans.
The Kerala CM was not available for a comment, but a senior functionary said the party line had been laid down by Sitaram Yechury. Yechury said the invite from Banerjee was “unilateral and without consultation”.
At least two non-bjp states indicated that while the CMS themselves would not be present, a representative would be sent. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said: “Uddhav Ji has received an invite to a June 15 meeting in Delhi. As we will be in Ayodhya at that time, a prominent leader of our party will take part in the meeting.”
HT Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Presidential election on July 18, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday deputed party president JP Nadda and defence minister Rajnath Singh to hold talks with allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), opposition parties and allies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to build a consensus.
The tenure of incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind will expire on July 25 and the election to pick his replacement will be held on July 18.
The BJP will make efforts to pick a consensus candidate who will get support from across party lines, said a party functionary on condition of anonymity.
At present, the NDA allies include the Janata Dal (United), the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party led by Pashupati Paras, Apna Dal (Sonelal), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Jannayak Janata Party, Asom Gana Parishad, and a clutch of parties in the Northeast.
The outreach process by Nadda and Rajnath will begin shortly, the BJP functionary said.
The party is confident of making up for the deficit votes that it requires for picking the President. As on date, the NDA is short of the required majority mark by a little less than 20,000 votes and is banking on support from friendly parties that are not part of the NDA such as the YSR Congress Party and Biju Janata Dal.
“There is a possibility that many parties that have broadly supported the UPA and are not counted as friendly parties may also support the NDA nominee,” said the party functionary.