The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday stepped up its efforts to get maximum support for its presidential candidate with the three-member party panel speaking to a number of allies as well as opposition parties, amid indication that its nominee will file nomination next week.
Party sources have said that the National Democratic Alliance candidate for the top constitutional post is likely to file his nomination before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for the United States on June 25.
They ruled out filing of nomination by its candidate this week as the consultation process will take more time with Union ministers Rajnath Singh and M Venkaiah Naidu, two members of the BJP panel, scheduled to meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday as they work to evolve a consensus.
They are likely to meet Sitaram Yechury of the Communist Party of India-Marxist following the meeting with Gandhi.
BJP chief Amit Shah is scheduled to be in Gujarat on June 20-21. However, his three-day tour of Odisha starting from June 22 has been postponed, a party leader said.
There is a distinct possibility, he said, that the NDA candidate will file his or her nomination any day between June 21 and June 24, he said.
The nomination process, which started on Wednesday, will end on June 28.
Naidu spoke to Anbumani Ramadoss of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, N Rangaswamy of the All India NR Congress, Satish Mishra of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Praful Patel of the Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday, sources said.
He will also speak to most of the regional outfits from south India.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is also a member of the panel, will be speaking to leaders such as Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar, while Singh may confer with West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.
The home minister is also likely to speak to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.
Amid consultation among political parties, the BJP has given little indication of its choice for the top post.
Opposition parties have made it clear that they will put up their own candidate if the saffron party chooses somebody with strong Hindutva leanings.
The arithmetic in the electoral college favours the NDA, which has 48.6 per cent votes of its own. It is also expected to get support of the TRS, which rules Telangana, the Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party of Andhra Pradesh and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which is in power in Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, no names were discussed as opposition leaders met to chalk out their presidential poll strategy.
After the meeting senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the the 10-member opposition panel would meet again to decide on a suitable presidential nominee.
The sub-group formed for this purpose met in the chambers of Azad, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
This is the first meeting of the sub-group since its formation a few days ago.
Sources said the leaders would discuss names, but await a government initiative in this regard.
A united opposition, after several rounds of parleys between leaders of various parties, is hoping to zero in on a 'mutually acceptable' presidential candidate with the ruling dispensation.
If that does not happen, it is expected to put up a united candidate against the official NDA nominee.
The Left parties, meanwhile, are mulling to propose the candidature of former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi for the post, said sources in the CPI-M and CPI.
"We are thinking of proposing the name of Gopalkrishna Gandhi. He does not have an affiliation to any political party," sources in the Left parties told PTI.
They added that the parties would also have no objection if JD-U leader Sharad Yadav was picked as a candidate.
"If Sharad Yadav's name comes up, we will have no objection. He is a senior opposition leader...a man of integrity and honesty," a Left leader said on the condition of anonymity.
IMAGE: Sonia Gandhi. Photograph: Adnan Abidi
