BJP To Consult Opposition Parties Over Presidential Candidate : Amit Shah:- Before deciding on the ruling alliance’s pick for the top constitutional post, BJP President Amit Shah said that his party would consult opposition parties over a joint Presidential candidate.

Shah however evaded a query on whether the BJP would seek to build a consensus with the opposition. During an interaction with a news channel, Shah said, “Consensus is a word that is used in several ways. But we hold discussions with everybody, including the opposition parties.”

If the BJP-led NDA picks up a nominee with Hindutva leanings, fielding a “secular opposition candidate” is necessary as spoken by parties like the Congress, TMC - led Mamata Banerjee and the Left parties. However, the ruling block is unlikely to be upset with the stand of the opposition parties, as numbers in the presidential electoral college favor it.

The BJP Chief said they are yet to decide the names on anyone yet and has refused to speak about likely names from the NDA for the President’s post. He said “We have not decided on any name yet. We will first talk to our NDA allies. Then we will talk to opposition parties.”

A total of 11,04,546 votes are there in the electoral college for the presidential polls, with the BJP-led NDA’s tally currently standing at about 5.38 lakh votes.

After the YSRCP, the NDA crossed the majority mark in the electoral college.

The AP party headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy, announced his outfit’s support for the ruling combine and the TRS, which is power in Telangana, indicated that it will follow suit. The support from both the AIADMK factions is also expected by the BJP.

The Presidential election is scheduled in July and the poll to the post of the vice president is scheduled for August. The selection of the Vice President is clearly in the favor of the BJP-led NDA, with the alliance getting the support of 418 members out of 787, the combined strength of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

SUPRAJA