Although the Presidential election is round the corner, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA is yet to decide its candidate. Many names such as LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sumitra Mahajan, Draupadi Murmu and E Sreedharan are doing rounds, but nothing is concrete yet.
Reportedly, Bharatiya Janata Party has said that it won’t repeat its trial which it did in year 2002 by fielding an ‘outsider’ APJ Abdul Kalam for the top post. If party sources are to be believed, BJP wants to pick a contender from among its leaders for the presidential post, reported HT.
However, the discussion is continuing. IB Minister Venkaiah Naidu and Home Minister Rajanth Singh met party patriarch LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi on Friday. Earlier Advani and Joshi were the expected contenders for the top post but their names had been excluded out after Supreme Court’s restored conspiracy charges in decade-old Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir case.
Pranab Mukherjee’s tenure as President will end on July 24. He took charge as the President of India in July 2012.