Presidential Election 2017: BJP to meet Sonia Gandhi on Friday

New Delhi: Intensifying efforts to zero in on a "mutually acceptable" Presidential candidate, a three-member Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) committee will call on Congress president Sonia Gandhi here on Friday.

The BJP panel will later meet Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

The three members of the committee are union ministers Rajnath Singh, M Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley. After a prolonged silence on the issue, BJP chief Amit Shah had announced the panel on June 12.

When Naidu on Wednesday spoke to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Satish Chandra Mishra and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel over phone, he was told that the two parties will firm up their stand only after the Bharatiya Janata Party panel meets them formally.

Earlier in the day, Rajnath Singh and Naidu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The process of filing nominations for the July 17 presidential poll began today with the Election Commission issuing a notification in this regard.

The nomination process will continue till June 28.

Meanwhile, leaders of opposition parties held their meeting this afternoon to chalk out their joint strategy and come up with a consensus candidate.

The 10-member sub-group of the opposition met for the first time after its constitution recently.

In a bid to ensure that non-serious candidates do not file nomination for the prestigious election, laws were amended a few years ago.

Now, a candidate who is supported by 50 'electors' and seconded by another 50 can file nomination. Elected members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and elected members of state legislative assemblies are the electors.

If the elections are held in case both the NDA and the opposition field their candidates, then the results will be announced on July 20.

The term of present incumbent Pranab Mukherjee comes to an end on July 24.

(With Agency inputs)