Cong, TMC rivalry may mar Opp bid to give common name
In a customary outreach to develop a consensus on the choice for the post of President of India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday authorised its president JP Nadda and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to hold talks with leaders of different political parties, including those in the Opposition.
The presidential polls will be held on July 18.
In a statement, the BJP said the two senior leaders will talk to both ruling NDA and Opposition UPA constituents, besides other political parties as well as Independent members.
Such an exercise on the part of the ruling party at the Centre is part of the Indian democratic tradition, but it has rarely yielded any positive results in the past.
Opposition parties had accused the BJP during the last presidential polls in 2017 of reaching out to them at the last moment after it had already finalised the name of Ram Nath Kovind, who went on to become the President of the country.
The Opposition had forced a contest by backing Meira Kumar, who lost to Kovind.
The Opposition parties are engaged in their own exercise to pick a consensus candidate, but the rivalry between the TMC and the Congress threatens to spoil the initiative.