Presidential election: Who will be the opposition candidate?
The election for the President of India is going to be held on July 18, with the results scheduled for July 21, as announced by the Election Commission on Thursday, June 9.
The opposition parties are busy negotiating among themselves for a combined candidature. Several names are being discussed. The support of all the parties is crucial for putting up a strong fight to the BJP-led NDA, and for that, a senior political figure is essential, one who can pull everyone together.
According to sources, Sharad Pawar, the president of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is the most likely consensus candidate to emerge. He has a wide acceptance and is also a very senior figure, even in Indian politics as a whole.
These factors make him a very strong candidate, one who can put up an effective challenge to the NDA’s candidate.
Trinamool Congress Chairperson and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is playing a leading role in getting all the opposition parties to agree to Sharad Pawar’s candidature. She has a very good relationship with the Maratha strongman, going back decades, as well as with all the opposition parties, including Congress.
She sent a letter today (June 11) to 22 opposition chief ministers, inviting them to a meeting in New Delhi on June 15. “At a time when our democracy is going through troubling times, I believe that a fruitful confluence of opposition voices is the need of the hour; to echo the deprived and unrepresented communities,” she wrote in the letter, which was later released to the media.
With all the results for the Rajya Sabha election declared, it is time for the opposition to huddle together for the best way ahead.
Another factor to consider for the opposition if it has any chance to win is the support of BJD and YSR Congress. The former did oppose the farmer bills to side with the opposition. The latter supported the NDA on that issue but has been opposing the BJP on certain issues to give an impression of supporting the opposition. If they support the BJP, they risk their earlier opposition to the BJP/NDA as just a show. They can hide behind the excuse of ‘issue-based opposition’ but will they take the risk? July 21 will show, when the result will be declared.
