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This story is from June 16, 2022

Defence minister Rajnath Singh and BJP chief JP Nadda dial opposition for consensus on Presidential polls

Singh had telephonic conversations with Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and BJD chief and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik. The leaders remained “non-committal” on the issue as no names came up from the BJP leaders, sources said.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh and BJP chief JP Nadda dial opposition for consensus on Presidential polls

NEW DELHI: On a day when 17 opposition parties met to discuss the choice of a nominee to take on the NDA candidate in the Presidential polls, BJP got into its act on Wednesday with its senior leaders — defence minister Rajnath Singh and party president JP Nadda — calling on prominent opposition leaders to explore the possibility of zeroing in on a consensus candidate.
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Singh had telephonic conversations with Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and BJD chief and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik. The leaders remained “non-committal” on the issue as no names came up from the BJP leaders, sources said.
Nadda is also learnt to have approached some other leaders as nominations for the next month’s Presidential polls began on Wednesday.
According to sources, Singh asked for suggestions on names for the presidential contest, but Mamata, Kharge, Akhilesh and others responded by asking who was BJP’s choice. Since no names came up from Singh’s end, they remained non-committal in their respective responses.
If needed, the polling will take place on July 18, in which elected members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and state assemblies, including Delhi and Puducherry, will take part.

BJP has authorised the two leaders to reach out to all political parties to explore the possibility of a consensus candidate. The chances seem to be remote though, with opposition parties already making it clear that they will field their own candidate.
The BJP-led NDA is barely 2% short of the winning number. And with some regional parties not attending Wednesday’s opposition meeting, the chances of the NDA candidate’s victory has further been bolstered. While YSRCP was not invited, BJD, AAP, TRS and SAD skipped the opposition meet.
Sources said Nadda also called up Independents and leaders of NPF, NPP, National Conference and All Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU).
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