Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday said no Presidential election candidate was finalised during the meeting with leaders from various Opposition parties at his office in New Delhi, ANI reported. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu will meet with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechury on June 17, the news agency reported.
The BJP leaders have already met with Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Mishra.
Azad said Opposition parties were united on the matter. “Aaj pehli meeting thi. Aaj kisi naam par charcha nahi hui [Today was the first Opposition meeting. We did not discuss any candidates names].” The Congress leader said a sub-committee meeting will be held to discuss the names soon.
The Opposition leaders met on Wednesday to discuss potential presidential candidates and their strategy ahead of the election. The 10-member group of representatives from the Opposition parties met for the first time since it was constituted.
The process of filing nominations for the July 17 presidential poll began on Wednesday after the Election Commission issued a notice in this regard, the The Indian Express reported. The nomination process will continue till June 28. President Pranab Mukherjee’s term ends on July 24.
On Monday, Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah had constituted a three-member committee to hold talks with political parties within the National Democratic Alliance in order to finalise a common candidate for the upcoming Presidential election. Shah had cancelled his visit to Arunachal Pradesh as BJP party members wanted him to stay in the Capital for internal discussions to finalise a candidate. The committee comprises Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Venkaiah Naidu and Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley.
Laws were amended a few years ago to ensure that only candidates with enough support can file nominations for the election. Thus, only a candidate supported by 50 electors and seconded by another 50 can file their nomination. The electors include members of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and those of state legislative assemblies. The results will be announced on July 20 in case both the National Democratic Alliance and the opposition field their candidates in the elections.
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