JD-U to attend Opposition meet on Vice-President poll

New Delhi: After their consensual nomination for presidential polls, the Opposition parties now plan to field a common candidate for the position of vice-president and are likely to meet early next week to decide on a name. The meeting will also be attended by Janata Dal (United).

The JD(U) had broken ranks with the Opposition and supported the National Democratic Alliance presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

Senior Congress leader and political secretary to party president Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel is coordinating the Opposition meeting and has started calling up the leaders of all the 17 parties, which had come together for the presidential polls.

“The meeting is likely to be held either on July 10 or 11,” a senior leader told this newspaper.

“As of now, things are fine. We will definitely attend the meeting if  invited,” JD(U) national secretary K.C. Tyagi told this newspaper.

It is not clear yet whether Bihar CM Nitish Kumar would himself attend the meeting. The vice-presidential elections will be held on August 5.

Sources in the JD(U) said that the Congress had sent emissaries to placate Mr Kumar, who had taken umbrage at some adverse comments made by Congressmen, including senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

He said that the 17 parties need to get together for taking up issues like lynching in the name of Gau Raksha, farmers issues and also the role of governors in the light of recent developments in West Bengal.

“We will take up these issues together in Parliament as well,” Mr Tyagi said.

The Opposition parties, including the Congress, Left parties, Trinamul Congress, SP, BSP and RJD and JD(U), had come together to field a common presidential candidate to counter the Modi government. However, before the name of the former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar was announced, the JD(U) decided to back Mr Kovind.