Presidential Election: Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), in a meeting of opposition parties convened by Trinamool Congress President and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday to reach a consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the presidential election. Leaders of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are unlikely to attend.
Banerjee had last week invited leaders of 19 political parties, including 7 chief ministers, for a meeting in the national capital to “unify the opposition” for the July 18 presidential election. According to sources associated with the three parties, leaders of TRS, BJD, AAP and SAD will not attend the meeting.
A BJD leader, on the condition of anonymity, said that the party has not yet received any instructions from their chief Naveen Patnaik. At the same time, senior leader Pinaki Mishra is also not in the country.
All in the meeting of the opposition
Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), Naveen Patnaik (BJD), K. Chandrashekhar Rao (TRS), M.K. Stalin (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena), Hemant Soren (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), D Raja (Marxist Communist Party), Sharad Pawar (Nationalist Congress Party), Lalu Prasad (Rashtriya Janata Dal) ), Jayant Choudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal), former prime ministers HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy (Janata Dal (Secular), Farooq Abdullah (National Conference), Mehbooba Mufti (People’s Democratic Party), Sukhbir Singh Badal (SAD), Pawan Chamling ( Sikkim Democratic Front) and K. M. Kader Mohideen (Indian Union Muslim League) has been invited.
These parties were not included
Some parties like Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) have not been invited to the meeting. This meeting is being held on June 15 at the Constitution Club. A day before the meeting, Banerjee and Left party leaders met NCP chief Sharad Pawar separately at his residence and tried to persuade him to become the opposition’s candidate for the top constitutional post.
Important role of these parties
The ruling NDA has nearly half the vote in the electoral college. If it gets the support of parties like BJD, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Yuvajan Shramik Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), then its candidate can win the presidential election.
