Hectic deliberations, few differences and opinions but a common goal – to form a united front to tackle the BJP stalwart ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. When the opposition gathered in Delhi to elect a common face as their representative for the presidential election, the rift was hard to ignore. While parties like the TRS and AAP stayed away, skeptical of sharing the stage with arch-rival Congress, a name floated by all the leaders – Sharad Pawar – was not very keen on the top post.
As the race for the top position gets underway, News18 brings you a rundown of the polls:
the announcement
Election Commission on June 9 India Announced that the 16th presidential election, 2022, would be held on 18 July and the counting of votes would take place in Delhi on 21 July. The new president will take oath on July 25. At a press conference in New Delhi, the Election Commission announced that the nominations for the presidential election will be filed on June 29 and will be scrutinized on June 30.
The term of President Ram Nath Kovind is set to end on July 24 and according to Article 62 of the Constitution, the election of the next President must take place before the completion of the term of the incumbent.
“The election shall be by means of single transferable vote with proportional representation system and voting shall be by secret ballot. The elector has to mark the preferences against the names of the candidates, only with a special pen, provided by the designated officer, CEC Rajiv Kumar said in the press meet.
The poll watchdog said nominations would be filed from 11 am to 3 pm. Issuing guidelines for the voting process, the Election Commission said that a pen will be given by the poll panel for casting vote and no other pen will be accepted. Elections will be held in the Legislative Assemblies and Parliament House, where MPs and MLAs can cast their vote anywhere by giving prior permission of 10 days.
start discussions
The announcement soon raised the cat among the pigeons in the opposition camp. Under the leadership of Chief Minister of Bengal Mamata Banerjee – To the concern of Congress – Many opposition leaders gathered in Delhi to build a consensus. Along with Congress, NCP, SP, RJD, NC, CPM, CPI, JMM, Shiv Sena, IUML, PDP, JDS and RLD attended the meeting.
The name that was doing the rounds long before the meeting was that of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. However, Pawar turned down the offer saying he wanted to continue in active politics. According to several sources in the NCP, the party chief is keen to form an opposition alliance before the 2024 elections and sees a bigger role for himself as the kingmaker. Pawar also has good personal relations with the PM. Narendra Modi Despite the Prime Minister’s public criticism on political issues.
regional thunder
More absentees drew attention than those who attended the meeting. Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) are among those who refused invitation to TRS and SAD because of Congress . Presence.
News18 had reported on Wednesday that TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao is adamant on not sharing any stage with the Congress, even as he prepares the ground for a bigger role in national politics.
TRS MLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy while talking to News18 said that the party decided to skip the meeting as Congress was also a part of it. “CM had already told didi [Banerjee] That we want meeting with all regional parties only. Then why did he invite the Congress?” He asked.
Political experts highlight that Chief Minister KCR, who is looking to foray into national politics, wants to focus solely on creating an alternative force against the BJP and the Congress. Any joint space involving the Gandhi family would prove counterproductive as it would provide political fodder for the BJP to pursue a narrative that there is a secret pact between the TRS and the Congress, potentially damaging the party’s image in the state. can deliver.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi He said that he has not been invited to the meeting. Speaking to ANI over phone, Owaisi said, “I was not invited. Even if I had been invited, I would not have attended. The reason is Congress. TMC party which speaks badly about us, even if they invited us, we do not go just because they invited Congress.
Congress-TMC Cold War
Yet another tussle in the armor was a one-off game of humiliation between the Congress and the TMC in bringing the opposition on the same page. Mamata Banerjee’s initiative to personally invite 22 leaders for June 15, while calling for “a strong effective opposition is needed to fight against divisive forces”, was an attempt to reach out to the entire opposition spectrum – Arvind Kejriwal to KCR and leftists too. ,
However, this did not sit well with Congress, which claimed that it had informally begun the process of back-channel talks and began holding a meeting.
Despite the tension, TMC insiders say the party is positive about going ahead with the Congress, but the hurdle, once again, is the age-old question: Who gets to play the big brother?
According to political experts, the presidential election will be a litmus test for the opposition to see if they can really come together for the semi-finals ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where they face the BJP.
If not Pawar, then who?
Sources said Banerjee had proposed the names of National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah and Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi for the presidential election to be held in July.
In the meeting, Omar Abdullah, son of Farooq Abdullah and former Jammu and Kashmir CM, however, asked not to discuss the names for the presidential election. When asked about the presidential election race, Gandhi told news agency PTI, “It is too early to comment on it.”
Putting an end to speculation, the Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar had also announced that he was not a candidate for the elections to be held on July 18. The JD(U) had floated the name of party supremo and Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, twice in the past four months before bringing back the name of a possible candidate for the post of President of India.
numbers game
The ruling National Democratic Alliance has 440 MPs while the opposition UPA has around 180 MPs, apart from the Trinamool Congress with 36 MPs. If calculated roughly, the NDA has around 5,35,000 votes out of a total of 10,86,431 votes of all voters. This includes 3,08,000 votes with the support of its MPs and allies. The alliance expects support from independent regional parties like YSRCP, BJD and AIADMK.
Who can become the President?
Any person who is an Indian citizen and fulfills certain additional requirements is eligible to become the President of India. A candidate must be at least 35 years of age and must be eligible for election as a member of the Lok Sabha or the lower house of Parliament. The candidate should not hold an office of profit.
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