Pawar refuses to run for President

New Delhi/Hyderabad: Delhi on Tuesday witnessed a flurry of meetings on the presidential elections next month. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had called for a big opposition meeting at the Constitution Club on Wednesday to explore the possibility of fielding a joint candidate and force an election.

As part of the run up to this meeting, Mamata Banerjee met NCP leader Sharad Pawar to discuss a joint strategy. She in a tweet said that they had resolved to fight divisive forces and the resolve has grown stronger. Though it was speculated that Sharad Pawar would be the opposition candidate, the Maratha leader said that he was not in the running for the top post. NCP said that Pawar does not want to fight a losing battle. On the other hand, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is 13,000 votes short. Mamata had invited 22 parties for the meeting. This includes many chief ministers and AICC president Sonia Gandhi.

However, many chief ministers are unlikely to attend the meeting.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has nominated MP T R Balu to represent him. Similarly, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren also decided to send a representative. AICC president Sonia Gandhi is unwell and has deputed party leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh. CPM has decided not to attend the meeting.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has also decided to skip the meeting on the grounds that he was pre-occupied with official meetings. The possibility of sending state planning board vice-chairman B Vinod is not ruled out. Though the chief minister held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issue, no final decision has been taken yet.

KCR wants to make measured and calculated moves since he is contemplating to float a national alternative to BJP, party sources said.