President Election 2022: The Opposition has decided to field one common candidate for presidential election, said Mamata Banerjee after chairing the meeting comprising 17 parties on Wednesday. According to sources, the names of Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Farooq Abdullah were discussed during the meeting. The next meeting of the Opposition is on June 21.
Defence Minister and BJP leader Rajnath Singh spoke to opposition leaders Mamata Banerjee, Mallikarjun Kharge and Akhilesh Yadav to know their views on candidates for the presidential poll before the Opposition leaders' meeting on Wednesday.
"Several parties were here today. We've decided we will choose only one consensus candidate. Everybody will give this candidate our support. We will consult with others. This is a good beginning. We sat together after several months, and we will do it again," said Bengal CM and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee.
"Opposition leaders adopted a resolution to field a common candidate in the forthcoming Presidential poll. A candidate who can truly serve as custodian of the Constitution and stop Modi govt from doing further damage to Indian democracy and India's social fabric," said Sudheendra Kulkarni.
CPI leader Binoy Viswam said that in today's Opposition meeting, all parties proposed the name of Sharad Pawar for the presidential poll, but he refused, saying that he cannot take this up now due to his health. "All parties requested him to reconsider his decision," added the leader.
The leaders of at least 17 political parties joined a crucial meeting of opposition parties convened by Mamata Banerjee to build consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the NDA in the presidential election here on Wednesday.
Leaders of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK, RJD and the Left parties attended the meeting called by the Trinamool Congress supremo, while the AAP, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Odisha's ruling BJD skipped it.
Also Read: President election: 17 parties attend Opposition meeting; AAP, TRS, BJD skip
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