Presidential election Nadda, Rajnath to reach out to allies, Oppn

New Delhi, Jun 12
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda and Union Minister Rajnath Singh will hold consultations on behalf of the party with allies and those in the Opposition on the upcoming Presidential election.
In a statement, the BJP said the two senior leaders will talk to constituents of both the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and opposition United Progressive Alliance (UPA), besides other political parties as well as independent lawmkers. They will soon begin holding these consultations, the party said.
This comes a day after Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee convened a meeting of Opposition parties in Delhi to take a decision on the Presidential election. "With the Presidential election around the corner, Hon'ble CM of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, with an initiative of strong and effective Opposition against the divisive forces, has reached out to the Opposition CMs and leaders to participate in a joint meeting," a statement from the party read.  
The presidential polls is scheduled to be held on July 18. The BJP's move is being seen as an attempt by the ruling camp to reach out to other parties to arrive at a consensus on the choice for the top constitutional post.
Opposition parties had accused the BJP during the last presidential polls in 2017 of reaching out to them at the last moment, when it had already finalised the choice of Ram Nath Kovind who went on the become the President.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, put up by the Opposition, lost to Kovind. Hindustan Times (with inputs from agencies)