BJP should try to form an accord on the Presidential candidate by involving all the parties, said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday. He also favoured a second term for Pranab Mukherjee. The JD(U) president maintained that re-poll of President Mukherjee with the agreement will set a good precedent. However, he added that it was for the governing party at the Centre to decide on the candidate after taking on board all the parties.
“The President represents the entire country and its people and as such the ruling party at the Centre should take an initiative to seek a consensus on the selection of a candidate for the top constitutional post after holding talks with all opposition parties,” he said during a programme.
“I am not saying it is the duty of the ruling party at the Centre to seek consensus on the presidential candidate, but it should take the initiative in this regard as the president’s post represents entire country and the people,” Kumar said.
But then, if the ruling party does not go for consensus, it is the opposition’s responsibility to raise a joint candidate for president’s post, he added.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi is attempting to bring opposition unity for the presidential poll. However, the BJP-led NDA appears confident that its candidate will be chosen for the top constitutional post.
