MUMBAI: The NCP on Wednesday said that even as the leaders of 17 opposition parties urged party chief Sharad Pawar to be the joint opposition candidate for the presidential election, he once again declined the offer and requested the parties to propose some other names during the meeting to be held next week in Delhi.
The NCP, which is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, also thanked the 17 opposition parties for suggesting Pawar's name for the presidential poll.
"NCP thanks all the 17 opposition parties for unanimously recommending the name of NCP president Sharad Pawar as the presidential candidate of the united opposition. But Pawar saheb has declined to be the candidate for the same. The next meeting to discuss the more names will be held in Delhi on June 21," NCP's chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said in a statement.
Leaders of 17 opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK, RJD and the Left parties on Wednesday attended the over two-hour-long meeting called by the Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to build consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the BJP-led NDA in the presidential election.
The leaders of several opposition parties urged Pawar to be the joint opposition candidate for the election, but the veteran leader once again declined the offer.
"All the opposition parties feel that the candidature of Pawar is most suited for the president's post owing to his long political experience and his unshakable faith in Indian democracy.
The leaders feel that Pawar's name will find favour with many other political parties who are currently with the BJP," Tapase said.
"However, Pawar declined to be the candidate for the president's post and requested all the leaders of the opposition to think of other names regarding the choice of candidates when the leaders meet once again on June 21 in Delhi," he added.
Polls to elect the successor to incumbent President Ram Nath Kovind would be held on July 18.
The BJP-led NDA is comfortably placed to win the presidential election, with its vote share touching the 50 per cent mark of the total electors.
As many as 17 opposition parties, including the Congress, DMK, NCP and the Samajwadi Party, attended the crucial meeting convened to build consensus on fielding a joint candidate against the BJP-led NDA in the July 18 presidential election.
A second meeting of the opposition parties will be convened by Pawar on June 20 or 21, sources said.
After Pawar declined the offer, Banerjee later suggested the names of National Conference president and MP Farooq Abdullah and former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the sources said.
"I sincerely appreciate the leaders of opposition parties for suggesting my name as a candidate for the election of the President of India, at the meeting held in Delhi. However I like to state that I have humbly declined the proposal of my candidature," Pawar tweeted after the meeting.
The meeting adopted a resolution: "In the forthcoming presidential election held in the year of the 75th anniversary of Indian independence, we have decided to field a common candidate who will truly serve as the custodian of the Constitution and stop the Modi government from doing further damage to India's social fabric and democracy."
Banerjee said the significant aspect of this meeting was that all parties, barring one or two, have sent their representatives and senior leaders have attended it.
"There will be one consensus candidate. All parties gave unanimous consensus for Sharad Pawarji, but he has said no. He said he is not interested," she said.
She alleged that the country's institutions are being bulldozed and said there is need "for all of us to sit together."
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said there were many senior leaders in attendance and he urged Pawar to preside over the meeting.
Leaders of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK, RJD and the Left parties attended the over two-hour-long meeting called by the Trinamool Congress supremo.
Leaders of Shiv Sena, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), National Conference, PDP, JD(S), RSP, IUML, RLD and the JMM were among those who attended the meeting, which took place on the day the nomination for the presidential election began.
Regional rivalries were on display at the opposition meeting as some non-BJP parties such as the AAP, SAD, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Odisha's ruling BJD skipped it.
The presidential election would be held on July 18.
The process of nominations for the poll started on Wednesday, with 11 people filing their nominations on the first day.
After the meeting, DMK leader T R Baalu said some leaders have requested that Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Pawar and Banerjee negotiate and discuss the issue of a consensus opposition candidate for the presidential election with all non-BJP parties.
RJD's Manoj Jha, however, said the leaders would convince Pawar to reconsider the offer as he was the right candidate.
CPI's Binoy Viswam said, "There was consensus in the meeting that there should be only one candidate who is acceptable to all."
The Congress Wednesday said it will play a constructive role in ensuring all opposition parties arrive at a consensus candidate for the presidential poll, and urged them to be proactive rather than reactive in making the decision.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Kharge said his party has no particular candidate in mind for the poll, and that it will sit together with other parties to arrive at a name acceptable to all.
Kharge said the consensus opposition candidate for the highest constitutional post in the country should be someone committed to upholding the Constitution and preserving the secular fabric of "our diverse society and speaking out boldly against the forces of prejudice, hatred, bigotry and polarisation".
Kharge said as Congress President Sonia Gandhi is unwell and has been hospitalised, she has asked him to speak to leaders of various parties opposed to the "divisive and destructive policies of the RSS/BJP" to explore the possibility of a joint opposition candidate for the presidential election.
The leaders who attended the meeting included Pawar and Praful Patel of the NCP; Kharge, Jairam Ramesh and Randeep Surjewala of the Congress; H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S); Akhilesh Yadav of the SP; Mehbooba Mufti of the PDP; and Omar Abdullah of the National Conference.
The meeting which began at 3 pm ended a little after 5 PM.
Banerjee last week invited leaders of 19 political parties, including seven chief ministers, for the meeting in the national capital to produce a "confluence of opposition voices" for the July 18 election.
A day ahead of the meeting, Banerjee and Left party leaders had met Pawar at his residence separately to try and convince him to be the common opposition candidate for the top constitutional post.
With the ruling NDA having about half of the votes of the electoral college and the possible support of fence-sitters like the BJD, AIADMK and YSR, its candidate is likely to sail through the contest.