Vadodara: Former Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav on Monday said the non-BJP parties were trying to arrive at a consensus to select a common candidate for the presidential election.
“Bringing the non-BJP parties together for putting up a common candidate for the presidential poll is not easy. But there is enough time for it as the poll is scheduled for July,” he told PTI in Vadodara.
“After coming together, these parties will decide who will be their common candidate,” Yadav said. He, however, added that the parties had not started discussing any names yet.
Yadav arrived in Vadodara late last night and left for Waghodia town in the district this morning where the JD(U)’s social justice rally, taken out to protect the rights of tribals, was scheduled to be concluded.
The BJP’s thumping victories in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have lent a sense of urgency to the opposition’s efforts to forge unity ahead of the presidential election.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury recently met Congress president Sonia Gandhi to explore the possibility of fielding a joint candidate, while RJD chief Lalu Prasad talked about cobbling together a Bihar-style ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance).
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee earlier called for a larger unity among the regional parties to take on the BJP.
PTI