Hummingbird News Desk
KOLKATA, 15 JUNE: Leaders of 17 Opposition parties including Congress, CPI-M, CPI, CPIML, RSP, Shiv Sena, NCP, RJD, SP, National Conference, PDP, JD(S), DMK, RLD, IUML and JMM attended the meeting convened by All India Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi ahead of Presidential election.
On Saturday, Trinamul Congress supremo has sent letters to party chiefs of 22 political parties of which five political parties like TRS, JD(U), AAP, BJD and Shiromoni Akali Dal did not join the meeting.

In the meeting it was unanimously decided that NCP chief Sharad Pawar to be the Presidential candidate of Trinamul Congress.
After the meeting, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said, ‘We have unanimously elected to make Sharad Pawar as the Presidential candidate but he is not agreeing due to his ill health. But we will try to pursue him and if he does not agree we will again meet on 22 June and will select our candidate unanimously. We will contentiously select such a candidate who will be able to protect the Constitution and democracy which is being butchered everyday by the ruling BJP.”
Later she also suggested the name of Farooq Abdullah of National Conference.
Political analysts feel that the meeting convened by Mamata Banerjee in Delhi where 17 Opposition leaders attended has given a strong message to the ruling party. The unanimous decision of 17 Opposition parties to elect Sharad Pawar as next President also sent a strong message to the ruling party BJP.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Wednesday began the consultation exercise on evolving a consensus name for the presidential polls with senior party leader Rajnath Singh speaking to a number of key opposition leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, sources said.
The BJP has authorised Singh and party’s chief J P Nadda to consult with other parties for building consensus on a presidential candidate.
Singh made the calls to Kharge, Banerjee and Yadav besides some other leaders on a day when leaders of 17 opposition parties met here to build a consensus on a joint opposition candidate.
The sources said opposition leaders asked Singh about BJP-led NDA’s nominee for the presidential election.
During the meeting convened by Banerjee, at least two more names emerged — National Conference ( NC) supremo Farooq Abdullah and Gopalkrishna Gandhi, after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar declined to be a candidate.
The election for the president will be held on 18 July, while the nomination process began from Wednesday. Incumbent Ram Nath Kovind’s term ends on July 24.
Tags: #PresidentialElection #SharadPawar #FarooqAbdullah #MamataBanerjee #ConstitutionClubOfIndia #Delhi