Rajnath & Nadda talks with allies, opposition to build ‘consensuses’

By Our Special Correspondent

The BJP on Sunday authorized its president JP Nadda and Union minister Rajnath Singh to hold consultations with various political parties, including the opposition, on the presidential election. On selection to the highest constitutional office.

The two senior leaders will hold talks with members of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition United Progressive Alliance (UPA) partner parties as well as other independent political parties, BJP general secretary Arun Singh said in a statement.

The next presidential election will be held on July 18 with 4,809 voters, including MPs and MLAs, voting to elect Ramnath Kovind's successor.

According to its strength in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha as well as several state assemblies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in an easy position to win the candidate it has nominated in the upcoming elections.

Singh, who enjoys a good rapport with leaders across the political spectrum, was also part of the BJP's committee during the 2017 presidential polls to deliberate with opposition parties. In 2017, then BJP president Amit Shah set up a three-member panel comprising then senior Union ministers Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu to discuss the presidential election with all political parties.

Opposition parties have accused the BJP of reaching out to them at the last minute, after finalizing the selection of Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, who was elected President after defeating Meira Kumar with the support of the Opposition.

With a relatively small turnout this time around, the BJP-led NDA candidate needs the support of one of two fence-sitters - the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the YSR Congress party.