The committee of Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu set up by BJP president Amit Shah to evolve a consensus on a presidential candidate, will, in all likelihood, be meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechury on Friday.
Sources also said the process of consultation and the announcement of the name of the NDA candidate was expected by June 23, before Prime Minister Narendra Modi departs for the United States to meet President Donald Trump.
Opposition meets
The government’s outreach came on a day the nine-member Opposition sub-committee set up to discuss candidates for the presidential and vice-presidential polls held a preliminary meeting here on Wednesday.
The committee, however, was unable to come to any decision in view of the ruling party getting in touch with Opposition members.
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, who chairs the sub-committee, said after the meeting: “When we had decided on this meeting, the government had not come up with any names. The process has begun today with committee members making initial contacts with individual leaders.”
Mr Azad said government representatives would be talking to opposition leaders “singly, not collectively.”
He denied speculation that the opposition had shortlisted candidates.
