Gandhi, who served as governor of West Bengal from 2004 to 2009, has sought some time and is expected to give his reply by Wednesday. However, opposition leaders are hopeful of a “positive” reply from Gandhi.
In 2017, 77-year-old Gandhi was an opposition candidate for the post of vice president but had lost the election to M Venkaiah Naidu. According to PTI, Gandhi could emerge as the consensus opposition candidate for the top post as there already was consensus on his name in the last vice-presidential election.
Sharad Pawar unlikely to be Oppn’s candidate for Presidential polls
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday met Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi ahead of the latter’s meeting with several opposition leaders to discuss presidential polls.
During the meeting, which was also attended by CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI general secretary D Raja, Mamata reportedly urged Pawar to become the opposition’s joint candidate for Presidential polls, an offer rejected by the 81-year-old Maratha strongman.
