Oppn parties propose Sharad Pawar as joint candidate in Prez polls

As the presidential poll date gets near, the Opposition camp is gearing up to put up a strong joint candidate. Congress party president Sonia Gandhi has assigned the task of finding a common candidate for the presidential election to senior party leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

Congress has reportedly conveyed its support for Sharad Pawar as a Presidential candidate. Mr. Kharge met Sharad Pawar last Thursday, to convey the message of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. Mr. Pawar has been credited with making and breaking many alliances. However, there is no response from Mr. Pawar himself or his NCP (Nationalist Congress Party), which is an ally of the Congress in the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) government in Maharashtra.

The Congress party has also touched base with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who has called an Opposition party meeting at Constitution Club, New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss a joint strategy for the Presidential election. Mr. Kharge has also had initial talks with the leaders of the CPI, CPI (M), DMK, and AAP for putting a joint Opposition candidate. Insiders claim that Shiv Sena chief Uddav Thackray will also support Sharad Pawar if he agrees to contest the Presidential Election.