NCP says Sharad Pawar not a Presidential candidate

Mumbai: According to a senior NCP leader, the chief of the party Sharad Pawar is not interested in contesting the Presidential election. Even though some opposition parties have backed his candidature for the race to Rashtrapati Bhavan, the NCP chief is not willing to stand for election. This was brought to the fore after Pawar held talks with Maharashtra NCP ministers on Monday.

According to an NCP minister, Sanjay Singh, an Aam Aadmi Party leader was present for a meeting with Pawar on Sunday reaffirmed his party's support for the NCP chief in India's next presidential election on July 18.

When senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge arrived in Mumbai last week in connection with the Rajya Sabha elections, he named Pawar as the joint opposition candidate in the presidential election.

Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) was also consulted by Congres for the same, according to Kharge.

"But, I don't think he is keen on it (contesting polls). Saheb (Pawar) is a people's man who loves meeting people. He will not restrict himself to the Rashtrapati Bhavan," the minister from the NCP said.

He added that the NCP leader was involved in getting the opposition together before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress had been in talks with other opposition parties to find a common candidate in the presidential election.

The BJP-led NDA has the potential to win the presidential election, with its vote share reaching 50 per cent of the total electorate.

While there are 776 MPs of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, each having 700 votes, there are 4,033 legislators in states with different votes who will also elect President Ram Nath Kovind's successor.

Although the final list of voters has not yet been announced, the NDA has 440 MPs, the opposition UPA has 180 MPs and the TMC has 36 MPs supporting the opposition candidate.

Source - PTI