BJP reaches out as Opposition parties meet to decide on President candidate | Political Pulse News,The Indian Express
Opposition meet floats names of Pawar, Gopal Gandhi, Farooq; Pawar declines to contest; Rajnath reaches out
ON A day when leaders of 17 Opposition parties met here to build consensus on a joint candidate for the Presidential polls, senior BJP leaders on Wednesday reached out to key Opposition leaders including NCP’s Sharad Pawar and NC’s Farooq Abdullah— two of the three names floated as possible candidates at the meeting convened by TMC leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The third name on the list was former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
Earlier, the BJP had authorised party chief J P Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to hold consultations with other parties for building consensus on a presidential candidate ahead of the polls on July 18.
On Wednesday, Singh spoke to Pawar, Banerjee, Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress), Akhilesh Yadav (SP), Mayawati (BSP), Shibu Soren (JMM), Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik (BJD), Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy (YSR-CP), and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar whose JD(U) is part of the ruling NDA coalition.
Asked about Singh’s conversation with Kharge, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who was among those present at the meeting on Wednesday, said, “this is a formality that Rajnath Singh was asked to go through, seeking support without indicating anything”.
Nadda spoke to Farooq Abdullah, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma (NPP), leaders of the All Jharkhand Students’ Union, Naga People’s Front and a few Independents.
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