Gopalkrishna Gandhi withdraws name as Oppn's Presidential face; 'There will be others'

After Farooq Abdullah, Gopalkrishna Gandhi also withdrew his name for consideration by the Opposition as the common candidate for the Presidential elections, on Monday. Issuing a statement, Gandhi said that the Opposition's candidate should not be the one who would ensure "unity among the parties", but the one who would generate a "national consensus and a national atmosphere".

"I feel there will be others who will do this far better than I. And so I have requested the leaders to give the opportunity to such a  person. May India gets a President worthy of the office presaged by Rajaji as the last Governor-General and inaugurated by Dr Rajendra Prasad as our first President," said the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi in a statement. It is pertinent to mention here that he had served as the Governor of West Bengal from 2004 to 2009. 

Big setback for Opposition 

In the meeting convened by Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on June 15, leaders of the Congress, SP, NCP, DMK, and RJD took part. Also, present in the meeting were leaders of Shiv Sena, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), NC, PDP, JD(S), RSP, IUML, RLD and the JMM, while the AAP, SAD, AIMIM, TRS and BJD skipped it. 

Post the meeting, a press conference was held in which it was announced that the Opposition leaders have adopted a resolution to field a common candidate. Three names had come up in the meeting - Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah and Gopalkrishna Gandhi. Before Gandhi, Pawar & Abdullah had also declined the proposal. Pawar had reasoned that he would be "happy to continue his service for the well-being of the common man" while Abdullah had cited the "critical juncture" Jammu & Kashmir was passing through, and how his efforts were required to help navigate "these uncertain times", as the reason. With this, the Opposition has called for a follow-up meeting in the national capital on June 21. 

Not just the Opposition, the ruling coalition is also yet to finalise its candidate for the Presidential election. To begin with, BJP deputed its president JP Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to interact with other political parties to explore the possibility of a consensus candidate. Moreover, it formed a 14-member management team headed by Union Minister Gajendra Shekhawat to ensure a smooth election process and ensure the victory of its candidate. A day earlier, Nadda held a meeting with the management team and deliberated on the party's strategy. 

Presidential election

As the term of President Ram Nath Kovind is ending on July 24, an election to fill this impending vacancy will be held on July 18. The President will be elected by the Electoral College comprising elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies through a secret ballot. However, the nominated MPs and MLCs of various states are not eligible to partake in this election. The total value of the votes of electors is 10,86,431. While the last date for filing nomination papers is June 29, the counting of votes shall take place on July 21.