Former Trinamool Congress leader Yashwant Sinha will be be the common candidate for presidential election, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on June 21, reading out a joint Opposition statement after the meeting of Opposition parties.
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Announcing Mr. Sinha’s candidature, Mr. Ramesh said, “Ideally, there should be a consensus candidate. We regret the fact that the Modi Government made no serious efforts in this direction. We appeal to all political parties to support Yashwant Sinha so that India could have a worthy President.”
Also read: Yashwant Sinha | The political journey of the Opposition’s Presidential candidate
Earlier today before the joint Opposition meeting to decide a common presidential candidate, TMC vice-president Yashwant Sinha resigned from all party posts.
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Announcing his resignation, Mr. Sinha tweeted, “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.”
On June 20, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi had backed out of the race. He was the third public figure after Sharad Pawar and Farooq Abdullah to do so. Following, Mr. Gandhi’s announcement, the Opposition parties had an informal meeting on Monday evening where Mr. Sinha’s name was zeroed in on.
Mr. Sinha’s candidature was finalised, only after he resigned from Trinamool Congress. The Left parties had insisted that if Mr. Sinha is to be the joint candidate of the opposition he must contest as an independent. He had joined the TMC only last year and resigned from the party just hours before his name was announced.