After the core committee meeting, the BJP today put the ball on Congress’ court asking it to respond first on the three names for President suggested by Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
“The Congress and the UPA should react first on the names of former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee, former president APJ Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for President,” BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar told media personnel in New Delhi.
Keeping all waiting. PTI
The BJP general secretary, however, avoided a direct response when asked if the party would support Kalam for a second tenure at Raisina Hill.
“Let the Congress respond first. After their response, we shall call a meeting of the NDA and discuss the issue before saying anything,” he said.
The Congress has so far not responded on the three new names as it was completely caught off guard by the stance of ally Mamata Banerjee and all-weather friend Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The announcement gave an unexpected turn to the presidential race as the duo the Congress choice for either Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee or Vice President Hamid Ansari for the country’s highest constitutional post.
The new names is likely to give a hard time for the Congress as it was banking on Samajwadi Party to counter Trinamool.
