News Analysis India

Tag: Presidential polls

  • 2022 presidential elections: BJP chief JP Nadda holds meeting with management team

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: BJP president JP Nadda held a meeting with the party’s 14-member management team for the July 18 presidential election and deliberated upon the poll strategy, sources said on Sunday. Nadda met the party leaders, including the team’s convener Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat, at his residence here.

    Other leaders of the team, including Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Arjun Ram Meghwal, and BJP general secretaries Vinod Tawde and CT Ravi, were also present at the meeting. According to sources, the BJP’s strategy for the presidential election was discussed in detail in the meeting.

    The BJP had authorised its president JP Nadda and Union Minister Rajnath Singh to consult with other political parties, including those in the opposition, for building a consensus on a presidential candidate.

    Both Nadda and Singh have already reached out to several opposition leaders, including Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik, and Farooq Abdullah, to reach a consensus candidate for the presidential election.

    With numbers on its side, the BJP-led NDA is expected to ensure the victory of its candidate in the presidential elections.

  • President polls: Pawar urged Opposition leaders to discuss some other names during next meeting, says NCP

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The NCP on Wednesday said that even as the leaders of 17 opposition parties urged party chief Sharad Pawar to be the joint opposition candidate for the presidential election, he once again declined the offer and requested the parties to propose some other names during the meeting to be held next week in Delhi.

    The NCP, which is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, also thanked the 17 opposition parties for suggesting Pawar’s name for the presidential poll.

    “NCP thanks all the 17 opposition parties for unanimously recommending the name of NCP president Sharad Pawar as the presidential candidate of the united opposition. But Pawar saheb has declined to be the candidate for the same. The next meeting to discuss the more names will be held in Delhi on June 21,” NCP’s chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said in a statement.

    Leaders of 17 opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK, RJD and the Left parties on Wednesday attended the over two-hour-long meeting called by the Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to build consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the BJP-led NDA in the presidential election.

    The leaders of several opposition parties urged Pawar to be the joint opposition candidate for the election, but the veteran leader once again declined the offer.

    “All the opposition parties feel that the candidature of Pawar is most suited for the president’s post owing to his long political experience and his unshakable faith in Indian democracy.

    The leaders feel that Pawar’s name will find favour with many other political parties who are currently with the BJP,” Tapase said.

    “However, Pawar declined to be the candidate for the president’s post and requested all the leaders of the opposition to think of other names regarding the choice of candidates when the leaders meet once again on June 21 in Delhi,” he added.

    Polls to elect the successor to incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind would be held on July 18.

    The BJP-led NDA is comfortably placed to win the presidential election, with its vote share touching the 50 per cent mark of the total electors.

    As many as 17 opposition parties, including the Congress, DMK, NCP and the Samajwadi Party, attended the crucial meeting convened to build consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the BJP-led NDA in the July 18 presidential election.

    A second meeting of the opposition parties will be convened by Pawar on June 20 or 21, sources said.

    After Pawar declined the offer, Banerjee later suggested the names of National Conference president and MP Farooq Abdullah and former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the sources said.

    “I sincerely appreciate the leaders of opposition parties for suggesting my name as a candidate for the election of the President of India, at the meeting held in Delhi. However I like to state that I have humbly declined the proposal of my candidature,” Pawar tweeted after the meeting.

    The meeting adopted a resolution: “In the forthcoming presidential election held in the year of the 75th anniversary of Indian independence, we have decided to field a common candidate who will truly serve as the custodian of the Constitution and stop the Modi government from doing further damage to India’s social fabric and democracy.”

    Banerjee said the significant aspect of this meeting was that all parties, barring one or two, have sent their representatives and senior leaders have attended it.

    “There will be one consensus candidate. All parties gave unanimous consensus for Sharad Pawarji, but he has said no. He said he is not interested,” she said.

    She alleged that the country’s institutions are being bulldozed and said there is need “for all of us to sit together.”

    Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said there were many senior leaders in attendance and he urged Pawar to preside over the meeting.

    Leaders of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK, RJD and the Left parties attended the over two-hour-long meeting called by the Trinamool Congress supremo.

    Leaders of Shiv Sena, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), National Conference, PDP, JD(S), RSP, IUML, RLD and the JMM were among those who attended the meeting, which took place on the day the nomination for the presidential election began.

    Regional rivalries were on display at the opposition meeting as some non-BJP parties such as the AAP, SAD, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Odisha’s ruling BJD skipped it.

    The presidential election would be held on July 18.

    The process of nominations for the poll started on Wednesday, with 11 people filing their nominations on the first day.

    After the meeting, DMK leader T R Baalu said some leaders have requested that Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Pawar and Banerjee negotiate and discuss the issue of a consensus opposition candidate for the presidential election with all non-BJP parties.

    RJD’s Manoj Jha, however, said the leaders would convince Pawar to reconsider the offer as he was the right candidate.

    CPI’s Binoy Viswam said, “There was consensus in the meeting that there should be only one candidate who is acceptable to all.”

    The Congress Wednesday said it will play a constructive role in ensuring all opposition parties arrive at a consensus candidate for the presidential poll, and urged them to be proactive rather than reactive in making the decision.

    Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Kharge said his party has no particular candidate in mind for the poll, and that it will sit together with other parties to arrive at a name acceptable to all.

    Kharge said the consensus opposition candidate for the highest constitutional post in the country should be someone committed to upholding the Constitution and preserving the secular fabric of “our diverse society and speaking out boldly against the forces of prejudice, hatred, bigotry and polarisation”.

    Kharge said as Congress President Sonia Gandhi is unwell and has been hospitalised, she has asked him to speak to leaders of various parties opposed to the “divisive and destructive policies of the RSS/BJP” to explore the possibility of a joint opposition candidate for the presidential election.

    The leaders who attended the meeting included Pawar and Praful Patel of the NCP; Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Surjewala of the Congress; H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S); Akhilesh Yadav of the SP; Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP; and Omar Abdullah of the National Conference.

    The meeting which began at 3 pm ended a little after 5 PM.

    Banerjee last week invited leaders of 19 political parties, including seven chief ministers, for the meeting in the national capital to produce a “confluence of opposition voices” for the July 18 election.

    A day ahead of the meeting, Banerjee and Left party leaders had met Pawar at his residence separately to try and convince him to be the common opposition candidate for the top constitutional post.

    With the ruling NDA having about half of the votes of the electoral college and the possible support of fence-sitters like the BJD, AIADMK and YSR, its candidate is likely to sail through the contest.

  • Sharad Pawar opts out of Presidential fray at Opposition meeting: Sources

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Maharashtra leader and former Union minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday declined West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s offer to be the Opposition’s Presidential candidate, saying he “still has an active political innings to play”, according to sources.

    Pawar, 81, had earlier shut down speculation on the top post at a meeting with his party leaders, who revealed that the NCP leader was reluctant to fight “a losing battle”.

    A crucial meeting of Opposition parties convened by Mamata Banerjee to build consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the NDA in the presidential election here on Wednesday with leaders of at least 17 parties in attendance.

    Leaders of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK, RJD and the Left parties attended the meeting called by the Trinamool Congress supremo, while the AAP, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Odisha’s ruling BJD skipped it.

    Leaders of Shiv Sena, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), National Conference, PDP, JD(S), RSP, IUML, RLD and the JMM attended the meeting, which took place on a day the nomination for the Presidential election began.

    Apart from Pawar, NCP leader Praful Patel, Mallikarjun Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Surjewala of the Congress, HD Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S), Akhilesh Yadav of the SP, Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP, Omar Abdullah of the National Conference were among the prominent leaders in the meeting.

    ALSO READ | Sharad Pawar refused to be Opposition’s Presidential nominee, says Yechury after meet

    The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) skipped the meeting at the Constitution Club in the national capital, besides the Aam Aadmi Party, TRS and the BJD.

    The meeting began at 3 pm.

    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last week invited leaders of 19 political parties, including seven chief ministers, for a meeting in the national capital to produce a “confluence of opposition voices” for the election on July 18.

    A day ahead of the meeting, Banerjee and Left party leaders met NCP chief Sharad Pawar at his residence separately to try and convince him to be the common opposition candidate for the top constitutional post.

    With numbers on its side — the ruling NDA has about half the votes of the electoral college — and the possible support of fence-sitters like the BJD, AIADMK and YSRCP, the NDA candidate will likely sail through the contest.

  • JD-U downplays party leader’s pitch for ‘President Nitish’, says he is not in the race

    By Express News Service

    PATNA: Two days after a senior JD-U minister claimed Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has all the abilities to become President, JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh on Saturday scotched all speculations over it by asserting Nitish would not be a Presidential candidate.

    JD-U chief Lalan Singh, also the party MP from Munger, said, “Nitish Ji is neither a candidate nor he is going to become President. He has got the mandate to serve people of the state till 2025.”

    Senior JD-U minister Shravan Kumar had created a flutter in political circles when he commented that Nitish possessed all the qualities to become the President a few hours after the Election Commission announced Presidential election schedule on Thursday.

    Besides Lalan, two other ministerial colleague of Nitish Kumar — Sanjay Kumar Jha and Ashok Choudhary—heaped praises on Nitish saying that although Nitish possessed all the qualities for the post, he was not eager to be in the race for the President’s post.

    The main opposition party, RJD, also extended its support to Nitish if he was declared Presidential candidate. It would be a matter of pride for Bihar if somebody from the state becomes President, the party commented. Earlier too, there were speculations over Nitish Kumar being projected as Presidential or Vice Presidential candidates but he had himself rejected all these conjectures.

    But the issue revived after the JD-U minister Shravan’s statement on CM as Presidential candidate. But it is still shrouded in mystery why Shravan pitched for making Nitish a Presidential candidate when other senior JD-U leaders had to clarify later that Nitish would not be presidential candidate.

    Two other senior JDU ministers- Sanjay Jha and Ashok Choudhary- had also earlier said that Nitish had no wish to become President and would continue to serve the people till 2025.

    On being contacted, Shravan Kumar, who hold rural development portfolio, said, “Such kinds of talks keep on doing the rounds in the air given his (Nitish) long and illustrious political career. But the fact is that he no lust to become either the Prime Minister or the President.”

    The reversal of JD-U’s stand on the issue came soon after some BJP leaders took a dig at JD-U for projecting Nitish Kumar as Presidential candidate. “It is not that only one person deserves this post. There are millions of people in the country who have the qualities to become the President,’ remarked state agriculture minister Raghvendra Pratap Singh.

    Singh is a cabinet minister from BJP quota.

  • Presidential polls: Mamata invites 22 opposition leaders, CMs for meeting on June 15

    By Online Desk

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to opposition leaders, requesting them to attend a meeting on June 15 convened by her in New Delhi to prepare a joint strategy for the upcoming presidential poll.

    With the Presidential poll round the corner, Banerjee has reached out to the opposition CMs and leaders to participate in the joint meeting in the national capital, according to a statement issued by her party.

    The letter was addressed to 22 Opposition leaders including Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.

    “Our hon’ble chairperson @MamataOfficial calls upon all progressive opposition forces to meet and deliberate on the future course of action keeping the Presidential elections in sight, at the Constitution Club, New Delhi on June 15 2022 at 3 PM,” Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress said.

    “With the Presidential election around the corner, Hon’ble CM of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, with an initiative of strong & effective opposition against the divisive forces, has reached out to the opposition CMs and leaders to participate in a joint meeting,” the party statement said.

    ALSO READ | BJP may have upper hand in close Presidential battle

    Poll for the President of India will be held on July 18, the Election Commission announced on Thursday, with 4,809 members of the electoral college comprising MPs and MLAs set to elect the successor to incumbent Ram Nath Kovind. The counting of votes will take place on July 21.

    A senior member of the state cabinet, on condition of anonymity, said that the purpose of the mission is basically to consider some names which can be proposed as a unanimous opposition candidate.

    “There might be discussion on whether there is a possibility for the opposition parties to announce the name of their candidate before BJP announces their nominee,” he said.

    He also said that preliminary discussions between Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav have already been made about the probable names of candidates.

    “In her two-day New Delhi tour she is expected to hold meetings with leaders of other anti-BJP forces,” the member of the state cabinet said. However, he refused to name those opposition leaders with whom communication had been made for fixing meetings with Mamata Banerjee during her New Delhi tour.

    The fact that Mamata Banerjee will go all out in playing a leading role in forging opposition unity on the issue of presidential polls was made clear by her in March this year.

    Soon after BJP clinched victory in the assembly polls in four out of five states, including Uttar Pradesh, Mamata Banerjee said on the floor of the assembly that the game is not over yet since BJP will not be able to get its candidate elected in the presidential polls with support from other parties.

    Sources said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge talked to Banerjee over the phone and that the Trinamool Congress chief wanted the opposition to come up with a consensus candidate for the top post.

    Kharge’s discussion with Banerjee came a day after Congress president Sonia Gandhi talked to the West Bengal chief minister as well as Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin and Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, besides NCP leader Sharad Pawar and CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury, asking them to organise a common meeting to discuss the issue of a joint presidential candidate, the sources said.

    Kharge spoke to Tiruchi Siva of the DMK, Sanjay Singh of the AAP, Elamaram Kareem of the CPI-M and Binoy Viswam of the CPI on Friday.

    He will also hold discussions with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in this regard later.

    He said he will be holding talks with other opposition leaders soon.

    Sources said the opposition leaders would be meeting soon to discuss the issue and come out with a consensus candidate for the top constitutional post in the country.

    Kharge had on Thursday called on NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai and discussed with him the issue, after Sonia Gandhi asked him to hold talks with all like-minded parties on the possibility of fielding a common candidate for the presidential poll.

    He said Pawar also supported the idea.

    Pawar indicated that the presidential poll issue may gain momentum after June 20, when polls to 10 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council will be held.

    “Our focus currently is on the elections to Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council,” Pawar told reporters.

    Kharge said he will also meet Thackeray to discuss the issue.

    “We will fix a meeting to discuss the possibility of fielding a common candidate,” he added.

    Election for the next President of India will be held on July 18 in which 4,809 electors comprising MPs and MLAs will vote to elect incumbent Ram Nath Kovind’s successor, the Election Commission announced on Thursday.

    Kovind’s term ends on July 24.

    Going by its strength in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, as well as in many state assemblies, the BJP is in a comfortable position to ensure the victory of the candidate nominated by it in the upcoming election.

    (With PTI and Agencies Inputs)