WHY SHARAD YADAV?
The Opposition is waiting for the Prime Minister to announce the government’s candidate before it reveals its cards. Sources say that in case the government announces an “acceptable” name, then they would not like to oppose it (the precedent being when the Vajpayee government announced Abdul Kalam’s name and caught the Congress by surprise). But some names have been shortlisted by the Opposition. The Congress wants Meira Kumar, but Mamata Banerjee is not too keen to promote a woman as President in case it eats into her own chances of being the Opposition’s PM face, so she has suggested Gopal Krishna Gandhi. And then there is Sharad Yadav, whose name has been suggested merely to keep the JD(U) in the Opposition camp.