New Delhi: NCP chief Sharad Pawar has called Opposition parties' meet on June 21 to decide the candidature for the Presidential election which will take place on July 24, sources said on Sunday. As many as 12 parties are likely to attend the meeting. According to sources, a senior TMC leader may also attend the proposed meeting.
During the first such meeting called by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Delhi on June 15 to formulate a strategy for the upcoming Presidential poll, it has been decided that a common candidate, who will "uphold the democratic ethos of the country", will be chosen as the opposition nominee.
As many as 17 parties attended the meeting.
Leaders of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK, RJD and the Left parties attended the over two-hour-long meeting called by the Trinamool Congress supremo, while the AAP, SAD, AIMIM, Telangana Rashtra Samithi and Odisha's ruling BJD skipped it.
Leaders of Shiv Sena, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), National Conference, PDP, JD(S), RSP, IUML, RLD and the JMM were among those present.
Pawar declined to be the joint Opposition candidate at the June 15 meeting while J&K National Conference leader Dr Farooq Abdullah, one of the names mentioned at the meeting, also said he was unavailable.
The Presidential election is conducted indirectly through an electoral college consisting of members of Parliament and the legislative assemblies of states and Union territories.
In an electoral college of around 10.86 lakh votes, the BJP-led alliance is estimated to have more than 48 per cent of the votes and is hopeful that non-aligned regional parties will support it.