Presidential Elections: NDA May Have Edge As Some Opposition Parties Signal Support  

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is inching towards the half-way mark (in terms of electoral college votes) in the upcoming Presidential elections with some opposition parties indicating that they would support the candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance.

The Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) and YSR Congress have already indicated their support to the NDA and senior leaders of the BJP are hopeful that some other parties that are not allied with the Congress may do the same.

The NDA hasn’t discussed a candidate yet, a BJP leader said.

“The consultation process has not started till now. We will first discuss with NDA partners before reaching out to the opposition parties and political parties, which are neither part of NDA nor the Congress-led alliance. A consensus candidate is possible only if the opposition parties respect the mandate of the people because the numbers are in favour of the NDA.”

Senior BJP leaders are hoping both factions of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) will support the NDA candidate.

Meanwhile, efforts of the opposition parties to field a candidate of their own in the absence of a consensus candidate have gained momentum. Congress president Sonia Gandhi held a luncheon meeting with all the key opposition parties a fortnight ago where it was decided that a sub-group would look at names of possible candidates.

“We are approaching all like-minded parties and are hopeful that if we propose a credible candidate, we will get support across the board. If the NDA comes up with a candidate with acceptability, then it is a different matter. But in that case too, the government has to reach out to us,” a senior Congress leader said on condition of anonymity.

“Things will be moving at a faster pace after the notification. We think there will be a joint candidate from the secular opposition parties. We will complete discussions within the stipulated time. There will be a candidate who can safeguard the values of our Constitution,” Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said on Wednesday. “By now the government should have started consultation for a consensus candidate, which has been the norm, but that has not happened as yet.”

“Gopal Gandhi is definitely one person in consideration,” Yechury added.

This article was first published in the Mint, and has been republished here with permission.