Trinamool Congress's (TMC) vice-president Yashwant Sinha has been declared the Opposition's candidate for the presidential polls scheduled to take place on July 18. "We (opposition parties) have unanimously decided that Yashwant Sinha will be the common candidate of the Opposition for the presidential elections," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh was quoted by news agency ANI as saying. NCP chief Sharad Pawar said the nomination for the presidential elections will be filed on June 27.

The Opposition's decision to field Sinha as their candidate came hours after the TMC leader said the time has come to step aside from the party to work for greater opposition unity. In a tweet, Sinha said he is grateful to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

"I am grateful to Mamataji for the honour and prestige she bestowed on me in the TMC. Now a time has come when for a larger national cause I must step aside from the party to work for greater opposition unity. I am sure she approves of the step," Yashwant Sinha said in a tweet on Tuesday.

I am grateful to Mamataji for the honour and prestige she bestowed on me in the TMC. Now a time has come when for a larger national cause I must step aside from the party to work for greater opposition unity. I am sure she approves of the step.

— Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) June 21, 2022The opposition parties had been struggling to pick their joint candidate for the presidential elections. Earlier, three leaders -- Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and former West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi -- reportedly refused to contest the Presidential polls.

Also read: Presidential Poll: Mamata Unlikely To Attend Opposition Meet Convened By Sharad Pawar On June 21

Sharad Pawar, who was the first choice of representatives of 17 opposition parties, turned down the offer stating he wanted to continue his service for the common man. Later, Farooq Abdullah decline the offer after thanking Mamata Banerjee for proposing his name. He said that he would like to contribute to Jammu and Kashmir.

I sincerely appreciate the leaders of opposition parties for suggesting my name as a candidate for the election of the President of India, at the meeting held in Delhi. However I like to state that I have humbly declined the proposal of my candidature. pic.twitter.com/j9lTFFJMUX

— Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) June 15, 2022

Later, Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopal Krishna Gandhi also turned down the offer saying, “Opposition's presidential candidate should generate national consensus. There will be others who will do this far better than I."

ALSO READ | Voting for presidential elections on July 18, counting on July 21

What is BJP's strategy for presidential polls?

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was scheduled to hold its parliamentary board meeting in Delhi on Tuesday where it was likely to finalise its nominee for the presidential elections. This came days after party president JP Nadda presided over a key meeting with the 14 members of the management team, formed to oversee the election.

Earlier, the BJP had tasked party's national president JP Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for holding talks with the Opposition over the candidate for presidential polls. The leaders had held talks with key opposition leaders like Sharad Pawar, TMC president Mamata Banerjee, JDU supremo Nitish Kumar and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik among others.

The elections for the presidential polls will be held on July 18 and the counting, if need be, will take place on July 21. The last date for filing nominations is June 29, the Election Commission of India had announced earlier this month. So far, 15 candidates filed their papers for nominations for the 16th Presidential election.

(Edited by : Akriti Anand)

First Published:Jun 21, 2022 12:52 PM IST