For the approaching presidential elections, the opposition parties announced the former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha’s name as the joint candidate. The opposition leaders, who gathered at the Parliament House Annexe for the meeting convened by NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, collectively agreed on Mr Sinha’s name.
The leader of AICC communications, Jairam Ramesh said, “In the upcoming presidential elections, we have decided to elect a common candidate and stop the Narendra Modi government from doing any further damage. At a subsequent meeting held today we have chosen Yashwant Sinha as the common candidate. We appeal to all political parties to vote for Yashwant Sinha.”
Prior to the joint opposition meeting, Mr Sinha resigned as Trinamul Congress vice president and all other party posts. Announcing his resignation from the TMC, Mr Sinha tweeted, “I am grateful to Mamata ji for the honour and prestige she bestowed on me in the TMC. Now a time has come when for a larger national cause I must step aside from the party to work for greater opposition unity. I am sure she approves of the step.”
Earlier, the former governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah had declined for the presidential race. The last date for the filing of nominations is June 29. The election, if it is necessary, will be held on July 18 and the counting will be held on the 19th of July.