New Delhi, June 16: As the UPA announced Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as its presidential candidate, Opposition BJP may bargain for the vice-president’s berth, in exchange of support for Mukherjee.
NDA sources said different parties in the coalition were considering a quid pro quo deal. Manmohan Singh has already spoken to Opposition leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, seeking support for the UPA candidate. However, the issue of vice-president was not discussed, they added. The post of vice-president, who is also the chairman of RS, will fall vacant in August after Hamid Ansari’s term expires.
Jaswant Singh of BJP met Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday. The former has reportedly been lobbying for his candidature for the post of vice-president.
Sources in BJP said Singh, who is known to have a clout across the political spectrum, has been told by BJP president Nitin Gadkari to liaison with other parties on NDA’s behalf.
“It is wrong to say that he is behaving like P A Sangma and is lobbying for his candidature. His meeting with Yadav was well within the knowledge of party president and with their consent. He is not freelancing for himself,” a BJP leader said.
Officially, BJP has asserted that it will not support the Congress candidate. However, on Pranab Mukherjee’s candidature, the party said UPA should have taken NDA into confidence before announcing his name.
“The NDA will now hold a meeting and then take a decision on the Presidential election,” said BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain.
Earlier in the day, after the meeting of NDA partners, veteran BJP leader L K Advani reiterated that they will not support a Congress candidate.
Asked if the Opposition will field a candidate, Advani said: "There is nothing wrong in a contest, it is a democracy. No decision has been taken yet."
The SP is said to be eyeing the vice-president’s berth too.
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