Rama Krishna Sangem
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president and former union minister and former chief minister Sharad Pawar, 81, has declined to be the opposition camp’s candidate for the Presidential elections. He told a gathering of opposition parties’ leaders convened by Bengal CM and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee (Didi) at Constitutional Club of India in Delhi on June 15, Wednesday. So, Didi will continue her efforts to find a candidate for the opposition camp.
The leaders who attended on June 15 will meet again by June 21, Tuesday to pick a nominee who will take on the ruling BJP’s candidate for the elections, which will be held on July 18. The 16th President of India will be announced after counting of votes on July 21. Election Commission of India has issued notification for the nominations on June 15 and the last date for filing is June 29. Pawar is now Rajya Sabha MP.
In a key development TRS, Aam Aadmi Party, Shiromani Akali Dal and Biju Janata Dal have stayed away from Wednesday meeting, with different reasons. Other major parties YSR Congress and TDP haven’t turned up as they were not invited to the meeting. Didi’s meeting, in a way, has exposed the differences among the opposition parties, more than showing their unity.
Most of the parties have deputed their middle rung leaders to the meeting, thus indicating their half (or half-hearted?) presence. CPI)M), CPI have sent their representatives, only to avoid embarrassment to Congress, which with they share electoral alliance in states like Tamil Nadu. TRS chief and Telangana CM KCR has made it clear that he would not share any stage with Congress, a principal opposition in his state. SAD and BJD have their own reasons.
Now it appears that the opposition camp will follow the process of elimination – to select its candidate. Names of former governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and former J&K CM Faroooq Abdullah are heard as probables. If they decline the offer, then former union minister Yashwant Sinha may be proposed by Mamata. Whoever, emerges as the final candidate from this camp, Mamata will have the credit for the chocie.
It is to be seen, if Congress which is a major opposition in the country will agree to back a nominee of Mamata led camp or insist on fielding its own candidate for the post. Three senior Congress leaders – Mallikarjuna Kharge, Randeep Singh Surjewala and KC Venugopal – attended Mamata’s meeting. Sonia and Rahul will have to take a final call on this issue, which will be known only after June 21.
Some leaders like CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechuri believe that Didi has done more harm than benefit to the opposition camp by hurrying host June 15 meeting. Mamata, in her eagerness to hold this meet wanted to show that she is the initiator of the camp’s politics on Presidential elections, not Sonia or Rahul Gandhi, these leaders feel. But, the meeting exposed the divisions in the opposition camp, thus giving a fair idea of strategy for the ruling BJP.
A major reason for Pawar’s reluctance to contest the Presidential election is sheer numbers. He thinks that BJP is comfortably placed to win the election and he does’s want to be a defeated candidate. A spokesman of NCP told a TV news channel on Wednesday that Pawar even at this age gets up at 5 am, and goes to bed at 11 pm, so the age is not a question of his unwilling to fight the polls. Some more names will e floated by this camp in coming few days.
Today’s Didi meeting exposesd opposition parties disunity rather than their unity.