New Delhi: As eleven candidates filed papers on the first day of nominations for the presidential poll, the opposition meeting called by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday witnessed the absence of some key regional parties like the Biju Janata Dal, Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Aam Aadmi Party. This has cheered the ruling BJP as it believes that their absence has only highlighted the faultlines and one-upmanship among its rivals. Notably, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik-led BJD has always maintained a distance from the opposition camp and has often backed the BJP-led NDA government on several issues, but the absence of AAP and TRS was significant as both parties have been critical of the ruling party.


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The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which already has over 48 per cent of the vote share in the electoral college for choosing the new President, is hopeful of support from the BJD and also the YSR Congress, which is in power in Andhra Pradesh, besides having sizeable numbers in Parliament. Like the BJD, the YSR Congress, too, has kept a distance from the opposition camp and has often lent its support to the ruling BJP in and outside Parliament on many issues while not being formally a part of the incumbent alliance.


On the opposition meeting, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi reportedly said that many opposition leaders engage in a host of activities to establish their supremacy over each other. He further said that this meeting has nothing to do with either the BJP or the country, adding it is merely a reflection of the one-upmanship among the opposition leaders who keep looking for one opportunity or another to do that.


In its bid to evolve a consensus on a presidential candidate, the BJP has already authorised its two senior leaders, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and party president JP Nadda to consult different parties, including those in the opposition. Rajnath Singh spoke to a number of key opposition leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, and also called Janata Dal (United) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to deliberate upon the presidential polls, sources told PTI. 


Despite their clear numerical disadvantage, opposition parties have indicated that they will field their own candidate for the election scheduled for July 18 in case more than one candidate is in the fray. Opposition's best hope, political watchers believe, is in a candidate whose appeal and stature may persuade some fence-sitters to support him or her and make the contest more interesting.


NCP president Sharad Pawar's name was floated earlier but his party has asserted that he is not in the race. The name of Gopalkrishna Gandhi, a respected scholar and former West Bengal governor, is also doing the rounds as one of the opposition's choices. Gandhi was the consensus opposition candidate for the post of Vice President of India in 2017 but had lost to veteran BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu in the election. 


Gopalkrishna Gandhi had failed to get support from the JD(U) and BJD, as two parties had supported NDA's Ram Nath Kovind in the presidential polls held around the same time. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) was in the opposition camp when it announced support to Gandhi and maintained its support even though he had joined hands with the BJP in the interim. 


It may be noted that the meeting called by the Trinamool Congress supremo, Mamata Benerjee, was attended by leaders of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK, RJD and the Left parties, along with leaders of Shiv Sena, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), National Conference, PDP, JD(S), RSP, IUML, RLD and the JMM.


The meeting coincided with the first day of nominations for the presidential poll with 11 nominations filed while one was rejected as it was not accompanied by proper documents. Nominations can be submitted until June 29, and the papers will be scrutinised on June 30, while the last day for withdrawal of candidature is July 2. 


The election will be held on July 18 and the result will be declared on July 21 as the term of incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind ends on July 24. Among those who filed nominations was a person named Lalu Prasad Yadav from Saran in Bihar, sources told ANI, adding that one nomination was rejected as it was not accompanied by a certified copy of the entry related to the candidate in the electoral roll of the parliamentary constituency in which the candidate is registered as a voter. 


Sources further said that 11 candidates filed nominations to the Secretary-General Rajya Sabha, who is returning officer for the presidential poll. Persons who filed nominations reportedly belonged to Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.


(With Agency Inputs)