Battle of attrition begins over Prez poll

Consensus only after naming candidate, Opposition tells govt

New Delhi: A battle of attrition began on Friday with major opposition parties making it clear to the government that a consensus on the President's election will not be possible without the ruling side giving the name of its candidate, a demand that was termed as "inappropriate".

The government formally began its outreach with the opposition on the presidential election with senior ministers Rajnath Singh and M Venkaiah Naidu meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi, but placed no name of its nominee.

Instead, the BJP team sought from the Congress leadership the name of the opposition candidate for the July 17 election.

The opposition leaders were told that the government and the BJP would like to finalise the candidate for the presidential poll before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves on a 3-nation trip on June 24.

"The BJP leaders did not give any name to Congress president Sonia Gandhi but they wanted us to reveal the name of our candidate. We were expecting them to disclose the name so that we can discuss it in our party and other opposition parties.

Since no names were given from the government side and since no names are being given, there is no question of any discussion and cooperation," Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was present at the meeting, told reporters later. "They should give us the name and then seek cooperation," he said.

Questioned about the purpose of the meeting, Mallikarjun Kharge, who was also present said, "That was only to meet, and they are seeking cooperation. And what I can guess is just they are seeking cooperation because they have already got something in their mind. That's why they have not given the name."

Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu are part of the three-member team constituted by Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah for discussion with political parties for the presidential polls.

The two-member team later met CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Prakash Karat and Brinda Karat to seek the party's support. Yechury virtually echoed the views of the Congress leaders and expressed dismay over the government not suggesting a name.

"We had expected that they would suggest some name which we could have seriously considered. Unfortunately, they did not come forward with any name," Yechury said, terming it a "public relations exercise" by the government.

The senior communist leader said the government side has assured them they would come up with a name after three-four days and "seek our support".

On speculation doing the rounds that the Left parties want former West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi as the opposition nominee, he said, "They (government) know. The names that we are discussing are in public domain."

However, government sources said disclosing the name of its candidate before consultations with political parties may not be appropriate.

Sources said the government and the BJP are of the view that approaching different parties with one or a panel of names for approval without knowing their views and suggestions may not be appropriate. Venkaiah Naidu also spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar over telephone.

Later he met CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy. Naidu has already spoke to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is also chief of ally TDP, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss and N Rangaswamy of the All India Congress (NR) and sought their cooperation.

While the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has assured Naidu that his party would stand by the decision of the Prime Minister, Pawar told him that he would come to Delhi and discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, BJP ally Shiv Sena floated the name of eminent agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan for the top job if its "first choice" RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat was not acceptable. In the same breath, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray also said that if the BJP president has a good candidate, his party (Sena) would give it a thought.