BJP has taken one sided decision: Congress; Meira Kumar can be Presidential candidate of Opposition, say sources

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar (PTI/File)

New Delhi: Just few hours after, BJP Chief Amit Shah on Monday declared the name of Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as NDAs Presidential candidate and said that he has spoken to Sonia Gandhi and various other opposition leaders to come to a consensus on the same, Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad claimed that BJP has taken "one sided decision". "BJP has taken one sided decision", said Azad on Presidential candidate.

#BJP has taken one sided decision: #Congress on Presidential candidate

— ABP News (@abpnewstv) June 19, 2017

Meanwhile, as per sources, Meira Kumar can be Presidential candidate of the Opposition. BJP Chief Amit Shah on Monday declared the name of Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind as NDA's Presidential candidate and said that he has spoken to Sonia Gandhi and various other opposition leaders to come to a consensus on the same. While expressing his certainty towards Kovind's election as President of India, Shah said, "By and large all NDA parties have agreed to Ram Nath Govind's name for Presidential poll". He also added that the name of Vice-President candidate is yet to be decided. As various political parties are in huddles over choosing their respective Presidential candidates for the upcoming Presidential polls, The Bharatiya Janta Party parliamentary board met on Monday to discuss the party’s presidential candidate. The meeting resumed at 12 pm on Monday and was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The MPs and MLAs were called in to sign the nomination papers in a meeting which was addressed by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu. Besides Modi and Shah, Union Ministers Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, Ananth Kumar, and several top leaders are present at the party office for the meeting of the party's highest decision-making body. As the meeting was underway, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addressed the media and asserted that "BJP has not decided or declared any name for Presidential candidate so far". He added saying, "If the candidate isn't decided by taking opposition's consent, then the opposition would come up with its own candidate". BJP has been seeking a support from various parties for their presidential candidate. BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday held a close-door meeting with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as part of the ruling party's efforts to ensure support of allies in the presidential election. According to a source in the Shiv Sena, Shah told Thackeray that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would decide the NDA's candidate for the highest constitutional post. The polls for 15^th Presidential Elections of India would be conducted in the country on July 17. The Election Commission has announced that the last date of filing nomination for the polls is June 28, and the counting of votes will be taken up on July 20. President Mukherjee will demit office on July 25 and Vice President Hamid Ansari will complete his second tenure in August. The President is elected through an Electoral College that includes national and State legislators. Currently, there are 13 vacancies in the Electoral College. As many as 21 AAP MLAs are also eligible to vote.