Rajnath speaks to Oppn leaders as BJP eyes consensus Presidential candidate

The BJP on Wednesday began the consultation exercise on evolving a consensus name for the presidential polls with senior party leader Rajnath Singh speaking to a number of key opposition leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, sources said on Wednesday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has authorised Singh and party's chief J P Nadda to consult with other parties for building consensus on a presidential candidate.

Singh made the calls to Kharge, Banerjee and Yadav besides some other leaders on a day when leaders of 17 opposition parties met here to build a consensus on a joint opposition candidate.

The sources said opposition leaders asked Singh about BJP-led NDA's nominee for the presidential election.

During the meeting convened by Banerjee, at least two more names emerged -- National Conference( NC) supremo Farooq Abdullah and Gopalkrishna Gandhi, after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar declined to be a candidate.

The election for the president will be held on July 18, while the nomination process began from Wednesday. Incumbent Ram Nath Kovind's term ends on July 24.