New Delhi, May 15 (IANS) The main opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Tuesday rejected Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s proposal to nominate former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as its candidate for the post of the president and instead authorised him to decide on its nominee.
“The NDA leaders authorised Vajpayee to take the decision regarding the alliance’s candidate for the presidential election,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad told IANS Tuesday night after an inconclusive meeting of the alliance leaders here.
The NDA had met at Vajpayee’s residence to decide on its stand on the presidential election, slated by July end when President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s term comes to an end.
Though the BJP, which leads the NDA, is keen on fielding Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat for the post, some of its NDA partners were not in favour of the proposal as they are jittery after Left parties’ call for a “secular candidate”.
“We hope that Vajpayee would consent to being the NDA’s presidential candidate,” Banerjee said at the meeting and her proposal was seconded by her party colleague Dinesh Trivedi.
Trivedi said that Vajpayee was an institution in himself.
However, the veteran BJP leader nipped the proposal saying he was not at all keen to take up the responsibility.
Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani told his party MPs that he believed that an NDA nominee for the highest office stood a good chance if they made full efforts.
“An NDA candidate can succeed if you all try hard,” his deputy in the Lok Sabha Vijay Kumar Malhotra, who did not name the BJP’s choice officially, quoted him as telling the party MPs.
With Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati virtually holding the key to the presidential election, the BJP was closely watching which way she would go.
Meanwhile, the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) continued to keep its cards close to its chest saying it will take a collective decision with the parties supporting its government from outside before finalising any name for the president’s post.
However, the names doing rounds in political circles are those of Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister Shivraj V. Patil and veteran Congress leader Karan Singh.