Why no Sena, NCP proposers for prez candidate Yashwant Sinha: BJP asks Opposition

By Payal Mehta
New Delhi [India], June 29 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) questioned the Opposition and said why there was not a single proposal or a seconder for the candidature of the united Opposition candidate for the presidential election Yashwant Sinha.
Taking to Twitter, BJP IT head, Amit Malviya, said, "It is interesting that no one from either the Shiv Sena (whatever is left of it) or the NCP has signed Yashwant Sinha's nomination, either as a proposer or seconder. So much for opposition unity and consensus candidate! Or maybe they are too anxious speculating MVA's existence?"
Yashwant Sinha, the common Opposition candidate for the presidential election, filed his nomination papers on Monday.
Several top leaders in the Opposition including Congress' Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress' Abhishek Banerjee and Saugata Roy, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Telangana Rashtra Samithi's (TRS) KT Rama Rao were among those who were present during Sinha's filing the nomination papers.
After the Nomination papers were filed by Yashwant Sinha, Asaduddin Owaisi through Twitter announced that his party would support Sinha.
BJP questioned why they did Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel of the NCP not sign endorsing the candidature of Yashwant Sinha despite their presence.
Sinha handed over four sets of nomination papers to Rajya Sabha Secretary-General PC Mody, who is the Returning Officer for the presidential election.
According to the nomination papers filed, the first set of nominations was filed by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. This was seconded by congress MLA from Chhattisgarh Anila Bhediya. The set of nomination papers had more than 60 Congress MPs and MLAs.
The second list for nomination showed the second set filed by the DMK. The proposer for this set is DMK MLA and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. The proposal is seconded by DMK Rajya Sabha member P Wilson. The DMK list is of more than 54 MPs and MLAs.
The third set was filed by Mamata Banerjee-led TMC. The Proposer for this set is TMC Parliamentary Party leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay and seconded by TMC MLA Sahina Mumtaz Khan. Sixty legislators of the TMC have signed on the set.
The fourth set submitted in the favour of Yashwant Sinha was proposed and seconded by the Samajwadi Party (SP). The proposer is SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and the seconder is the SP MLA Brajesh Yadav.
Upon examining the entire set of nomination papers, it was found that there has not been a single signature or mention of any Member of Parliament or MLA from either the Shiv Sena or NCP.
A hole was punched into the Opposition claim when at least four parties in the Opposition camp including the Aam Aadmi Party, Shiv Sena, AIMIM and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) did not join Sinha's nomination.
Even after filing the nomination for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a call has been made personally by Draupadi Murmu to party leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee and Hemant Soren to support her candidature.
On June 24, the day on which the NDA candidate filed her nomination, BJP national president JP Nadda had reached out to the Opposition leaders like Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Mallikarjun Kharge, Farooq Abdullah and HD Deve Gowda seeking support for Murmu.
The election for the President of India will take place on July 18 and the results will be declared on July 21. The term of the incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind will come to an end on July 24. (ANI)