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Day before Opposition meet over presidential polls, Mamata Banerjee calls on Sharad Pawar in Delhi
According to several media reports, the NCP chief is the opposition's preferred choice for the country's highest constitutional office.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in Delhi, a day before opposition parties are scheduled to meet in the national capital to discuss the upcoming polls to elect the next President of India.
According to news agency ANI, during the meeting, which took place at Pawar's residence, the two leaders discussed the presidential elections. Their interaction also took place in the backdrop of media reports that stated that the NCP chief is the opposition's preferred choice the be the country's 15th President.
Wednesday's meeting, meanwhile, will be held after Banerjee, last Saturday, wrote to leaders of as many as 22 opposition parties, including the Congress, inviting them for a discussion on the 16th presidential polls.
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The polls to elect the successor to Ram Nath Kovind are slated to take place on July 18; the counting of votes, if required, will take place on July 21. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), too, is yet to announce its nominee for the exercise. The BJP has, however, deputed two of its senior leaders - defence minister Rajnath Singh and party chief JP Nadda - to hold talks with allies and opposition to pick a consensus candidate who is accepted across party lines.
A day ago, Bihar chief Nitish Kumar, whose Janata Dal (United) is a member of the NDA, dismissed speculations linking him to the top post.
Also Read | Who will be India's next President? Not me, says Bihar CM Nitish Kumar
Kovind's tenure in the Rashtrapati Bhavan will end on July 24. In the 2017 elections, he pipped former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar to the job.
