BJP on Sunday said that it has authorised party president J P Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to hold consultations with NDA partners, UPA constituents and independent MPs with regard to presidential polls scheduled for July 18 (with results being declared on July 21).
BJP general secretary Arun Singh put out a statement to this effect on Sunday afternoon, adding that the two leaders will be starting the process of consultation very soon.
This comes not just after election commission's announcement of a schedule for the presidential polls, but also with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee writing to leaders of political parties and chief ministers for an opposition meeting at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on June 15 with a view to settling on a common nominee from the opposition table. Congress president Sonia Gandhi too had reached out to NCP leader Sharad Pawar for the same.
