Guwahati: Yashwant Sinha, a former Union Minister in the NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was selected today as the joint opposition candidate for President. The BJP has yet to declare its candidate for the July elections.
Mr Sinha’s name was unanimously agreed upon by opposition leaders assembled in the Parliament annexe for a meeting organised by NCP head Sharad Pawar.
“We have agreed to elect a single candidate in the upcoming Presidential elections to prevent the Modi regime from wreaking more havoc. We chose Yashwant Sinha as a common candidate at a subsequent meeting today. All political parties are urged to vote for Yashwant Sinha “Congress’s communications head, Jairam Ramesh, issued a joint statement from the opposition.
The BJP and its allies were urged to back Mr Sinha’s candidacy so that the country might have a “deserving Rashtrapati elected unchallenged,” according to the joint statement.
Yashwant Sinha’s campaign will be guided by a committee.
“We deplore the Modi government’s failure to make a real effort to reach an agreement on a presidential candidate,” Mr Ramesh added.
He added, reading from the joint declaration, that the opposition parties’ solidarity created for the presidential election will be further cemented in the months ahead.
Mr Sinha, a Trinamool leader, hinted at his candidacy earlier in the day when he said he “must step aside” from the party to fight for stronger opposition unity.
“I am grateful to Mamataji for the honour and prestige she bestowed on me in the TMC. Now a time has come when for a larger national cause I must step aside from the party to work for greater opposition unity. I am sure she approves of the step,” he tweeted.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the former governor of West Bengal, Sharad Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, and Farooq Abdullah, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, had all previously declined to run for President.
Today is also the BJP’s parliamentary board meeting, during which the party is expected to finalise its presidential candidate.
On June 15, the process of electing a new president began. The deadline for submitting nominations is June 29. If required, the polls will be held on July 18 and the results will be announced on July.