CONSENSUS: BJP may announce candidate on June 23; three-member panel set up by Amit Shah meets NCP, Cong, BSP -
New Delhi: The ruling and the opposition parties on Wednesday got going on the presidential election with the three-member BJP committee poised to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday in a bid to evolve a consensus on the nominee.
On the other side, opposition leaders held preliminary discussions on the issue but decided to meet again for detailed parleys after government makes public its choice of candidate.
The BJP core committee met on Wednesday morning in the presence of party President Amit Shah, where senior ministers Rajnath Singh and M Venkaiah Naidu, who form part of the three-member group were also present.
Later, Singh and Naidu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the strategy.
Later it was disclosed that the three-member team, which includes Arun Jaitley, will meet Sonia Gandhi probably with the name the ruling side would like to field as part of efforts to build a consensus.
The BJP may announce the NDA presidential candidate on June 23, who is likely to file his nomination a day after, informed sources said.
BJP sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to complete the process of filing of nomination by the National Democratic Alliance candidate before he leaves for the US tour on June 25.
The team will later meet CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury. Naidu spoke to BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra and NCP leader Praful Patel over phone.
He was told that the two parties will firm up their stand only after the BJP panel meets them formally.
Among the names doing the rounds as possible NDA candidate are Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik. There is talk in the BJP circles that the RSS could pitch for another veteran Murli Manohar Joshi.
A surprise could be in the form of Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu, a tribal from Odisha.
With an edge in the electoral college, the BJP is said to be of the opinion that it should have its own candidate who has an ideological background since it is the party in power.
Naidu indicated as much on Tuesday when he said that opposition should keep in mind the spirit of democracy that the BJP has the mandate of the people.
Meanwhile, BJP’s oldest ally Shiv Sena on Wednesday yet again made it clear that its “first choice” for NDA’s presidential candidate is RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Sena MP Sanjay Raut said: “Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat is the most deserving person to be the President of India. Will they (BJP) speak to us regarding this? If you think he is not the deserving candidate, tell us why he is not the suitable candidate.
“You give us another name, but for us Mohan Bhagwat saheb is the first choice for NDA’s presidential candidate.”
The Sena has been demanding that RSS chief should be nominated as the NDA’s presidential candidate, even though Bhagwat has said that he is not in the race. The Sena has not voted with the BJP in the last two presidential elections.
A candidate from Maharashtra like Naik or Bhagwat or even Mahajan, a Marathi who represents Indore in Madhya Pradesh, could ensure its support to the NDA candidate.
— IANS
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