Now, it is official. Contrary to the speculations doing rounds in some media circles, Union minister for Information and Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu will not be the candidate for the post of President of India, elections for whom will be held in July, if necessary.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday formed a three-member committee, in which Venkaiah Naidu is a member.
The other two members are Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitely. This committee will talk to other political parties to find a consensus candidate.
Since Venkaiah Naidu himself is a member of the committee, he cannot be considered the candidate for the Presidential polls. So, he is out of race for the coveted post.
The Presidential election will be held on July 17. President Pranab Mukherjee's term ends on July 24.
The BJP has so far not given any indication about its likely nominee but opposition parties including the Congress have held parleys to find a consensus candidate.
The opposition parties want that the candidate should be one who should be able to protect the Constitution, implying the choice should be a secular person.
The opposition has also said that if a consensual candidate does not emerge, they will field a candidate "who will steadfastly defend the constitutional values".
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has initiated moves to bring the opposition parties on a common platform for the election.
Gandhi earlier this month constituted a 10-member sub-group of representatives from opposition parties to take forward the deliberations and discussions on the election.
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