President Elections:
The opposition parties have put forward former Union minister Yashwant Sinha as their joint candidate for the upcoming presidential polls. Earlier on Tuesday, Yashwant Sinha had resigned from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) ahead of his nomination.
“I am grateful to Mamata for the respect and prestige she has given me in TMC. Now the time has come when I have to work for greater opposition unity outside the party for a larger national cause. I am sure she accepts the move,” the 84-year-old leader tweeted on Monday.
With the term of President Ram Nath Kovind coming to an end, political parties are busy in the race for the Rashtrapati Bhavan. However, the BJP has maintained silence on the issue and is expected to hold a meeting today to discuss possible names.
On Monday, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi had rejected the proposal after NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah turned down similar offers.
Yashwant Sinha (who has served as the Finance and External Affairs Minister of India) has served as the Vice President of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). He had left the BJP in 2018.
Opposition leaders on Tuesday met at Sharad Pawar’s residence to discuss the presidential election, a day after former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi refused to be nominated for the post. Earlier, Pawar and National Conference patriarch Farooq Abdullah had turned down the proposals.
Last week, Mamata Banerjee was in Delhi to hold talks after inviting 22 non-BJP leaders. The NCP, Trinamool Congress and other opposition parties met on June 15 to reach a consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the NDA in the presidential election.
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