Presidential Poll: BJP says will reveal its candidate after Congress does

New Delhi, June 14 (ANI): Soon after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh named three candidates for president, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said the Congress Party should announce their candidate for the coveted post, and then they would respond to it.

BJP leaders last evening met at the residence of party chief Nitin Gadkari to discuss key political strategies.

Talking to the media after the meeting, senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would decide on the presidential candidate after the Congress party came out with a name.

"Mulayam Singh and Mamata Banerjee belonging to the Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress respectively suggested three names for the presidential post. After thinking on the suggested names, the BJP has come to the conclusion that since the names have been suggested by the partners of the ruling government, the Congress party should put forward their candidate for the coveted post and then the NDA will respond to it," he added.

The latest developments appear to be a major blow for the ruling Congress Party, as both Banerjee and Mulayam have rejected the names of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, which figured during Mamata's talks with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Banerjee, who met Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, remained non-committal over the UPA chairperson's suggestion and said that she would revert to the issue after discussing it with her Trinamool Congress colleagues.

Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath had on Tuesday announced the schedule for the 14th indirect presidential election to elect the 13th President of India.

Sampath said the notification for the presidential poll would be announced on June 16. He further declared that June 30 would be the last day for the filing of the nomination by candidates for the presidential election.

Sampath said that July 2 has been fixed as the day for scrutiny of all nominations, while July 4 would be the last date for candidates to withdraw their nominations.

The presidential poll, he said, would take place on July 19, and the result would be declared on July 22.resident Pratibha Devisingh Patil will leave office on July 24. (ANI)