New Delhi, Jun 12: In a bid to find partners on the choice for the President post, the BJP on Sunday authorised its president J P Nadda and Union minister Rajnath Singh to hold consultations with different political parties, including those in the opposition, for the top constitutional post.
In a statement, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the two senior leaders will talk to both ruling NDA and opposition UPA constituents, besides other political parties as well as independent members.
They will soon begin holding these consultations, the party said.
Opposition parties had accused the BJP during the last presidential polls in 2017 of reaching out to them at the last moment after it had already finalised the choice of Ram Nath Kovind, who went on the become the president.
The opposition had forced a contest by backing Meira Kumar, who lost to Kovind.
The election to choose the next President of India will be held on July 18 and the results will be announced on July 21. The new president has to be sworn in by July 25.
How is the president elected?
The president is elected by the members of the electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament, and elected members of the legislative assemblies of all states including National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
The nominated members of either Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha or legislative assemblies of the states are not eligible to be included in the electoral college and therefore, they are not entitled to participate in the election.
Similarly, members of the legislative councils are also not electors for the presidential election.