By IANS,
Mumbai : Keeping mum about its preferences for a presidential nominee, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday said it will seek to create a consensus among non-Congress parties to get a widely accepted candidate.
In his inaugural address to the BJP’s national executive meet, party president Nitin Gadkari said the Congress was trying to give the president’s post to a loyalist.
“The Congress party’s chief criterion for selecting its candidate to occupy Rashtrapati Bhavan appears to be loyalty to the dynasty, and not loyalty to the Constitution,” alleged Gadkari.
“Just as it has devalued other democratic institutions, it also seeks to devalue the office of Rashtrapati. It must not be allowed to succeed this time,” he said.
Asked about the party’s preference, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad did not comment on who the BJP will back. He also did not confirm support for former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma, being backed by the Biju-Janata Dal and AIADMK.
“We respect their views,” he said referring to the BJD-AIADMK support to Sangma.
The term of President Pratibha Devisingh Patil ends July 24. So far, neither the Congress nor the NationaL Democratic Alliance or Left have narrowed down on any name for the post.
Names of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and former president APJ Abdul Kalam are, however, making the rounds.
The Left has also said it will back a candidate with maximum consensus.