After hours of BJP chief Amit Shah forming a commitee of three members to reach out to all political parties and discuss about building a consensus on the candidate to become the next President of India, Senior BJP leader and Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu also made a statement.
He said that the party might consult BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in order to reach a consensus about a candidate for the upcoming Presidential poll.
JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, party leader Sharad Yadav, TMC president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have earlier already met Patnaik on the issue of Presidential election. However, Patnaik has not given any assurance to any leader.
Nomination papers for the Presidential election can be filed between 14 and June 28. The poll is scheduled to be held on July 17.
BJD’s decision regarding the Presidential polls is considered significant as the party has 20 members in the Lok Sabha, nine members in the Rajya Sabha and 117 MLAs in the 147-member Odisha Assembly.