After Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar called on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday late night met her and is learnt to have discussed the possibility of “like-minded” Opposition parties fielding a common candidate for the presidential poll. After these two successive meetings all the Opposition leaders are likely to meet shortly to discuss the issue formally.
AICC sources said that Yechury and Sonia Gandhi discussed the possibility of fielding a candidate acceptable to all secular Opposition parties and Congress chief responded positively to a suggestion in this connection. The CPI (M) has also held informal discussions on the issue with NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and RJD chief lalu Prasad. Nitish and Yechury together are in touch with senior leaders of the NCP, the Samajwadi Party, the BSP, and left wings to unite the Opposition.
Asked if President Pranab Mukherjee, a Congress veteran, could be fielded as the common candidate by the Opposition parties, the source said he maybe. “If all parties agreed (to the proposal). But again, it is subject to whether Mukherjee wants to continue as President,” he said.
Mukherjee’s tenure as President is coming to an end on July 24 in which he had defeated the NDA candidate late PA Sangma. While Mukherjee secured 7.13 lakh votes as against 3.15 lakh polled by Sangma.
The efforts to unite the Oppostion has gained momentum after the BJP’s stupendous show in the recent Assembly polls. Senior Opposition leaders including NCP president Sharad Pawar, BSP supremo Mayawati, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, have already called for stitching together such a front. “There should be a joint Opposition candidate for the top Constitutional post and Sonia Gandhi being the leader of the largest Opposition party should take the lead,” an AICC officer bearer said.