New Delhi: The Opposition has started trying to field a common candidate in the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections in July. The leader of the opposition said talks on who should be there would begin soon. The candidate will be an ideological challenger to the BJP and the RSS.
After the elections in the states including UP, it is not difficult for the BJP to win its own candidate. But the Opposition is trying to figure out whether a contest can be arranged with the help of parties that are neither with the BJP nor with the Opposition. Presidential and Vice Presidential elections are held in July-August.
How to find a candidate?
Finding a joint candidate for the scattered opposition is not easy in the current situation. The Trinamool and the Aam Aadmi Party have been campaigning for a real alternative to the BJP, demanding the removal of the Congress from the leadership of the Opposition. The CPM in Kerala also has little interest in the Congress leadership.
The Electoral College (Voters) consists of 233 members of the Rajya Sabha, 543 members of the Lok Sabha and 4120 members of various Assemblies. The value of an MP’s vote is 708. The maximum vote value of an MLA is 208. According to the 1971 census, the vote value of each state is calculated on the basis of population. The vote value of the total 4896 voters is 10,98,903. The president is the one who gets more than 50 per cent and then one vote more.
If the BJP had lost power in UP due to the possibility of a common candidate from the Opposition, it would have definitely had to seek the help of other parties. Parties like BJD and YSR Congress are not allied with the BJP but are cooperating in Parliament.
From Sharad Pawar to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, an NDA ally, the names of opposition candidates have risen. There were reports that BSP leader Mayawati was also interested. If Nitish Kumar is to be replaced as the opposition candidate, he will have to be ousted from the NDA.
Victory will not be unilateral
The Opposition is also convinced that the BJP will win easily in the current situation. But when it comes to ideological struggle, the calculation is that victory will not be unilateral. Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections. Leaders say it should come as no surprise that a woman candidate from the South is coming, as the focus is on the South in the 2024 general election.
There are rumors that the BJP may field Ghulam Nabi Azad, a Congress leader from Jammu and Kashmir, for the presidency. If so, there will be a big split in the Congress vote. Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections.
In 2017, Meira Kumar, a former Lok Sabha speaker and Dalit leader, contested as the joint opposition candidate. Initially, Gopal Krishna Gandhi was chosen, but after confirming that Ramnath Kovind was the BJP’s candidate, Meira Kumar contested. Gandhi later ran against Venkaiah Naidu in the Vice Presidential election.
English Summary: Opposition parties thinking about common candidate against BJP in President – Vice President Elections