In run-up to Presidential polls, BJP, Opposition make their first moves

Rajnath reaches out to Mamata, proposes common govt-Opposition candidate

The search for the next President of India got more interesting on Wednesday, with Defence Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajnath Singh speaking to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to see if the Opposition and the government could build a bipartisan consensus on one name. Singh’s intervention came after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar signalled his unwillingness to be the Opposition’s candidate. Singh also spoke to the Congress party's Mallikarjun Kharge, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik, and the Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav.

Earlier in the day, Banerjee spearheaded a meeting of Opposition