Prez Polls: Opposition Back to Square One, 3 Candidates Opt Out

New Delhi: Stating ‘Others better than I..’, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Monday politely turned down the opposition’s request to contest the upcoming Presidential elections as their candidate. 

Earlier, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah had also declined the Opposition’s offer to be their candidate. The Opposition parties are struggling to put up a joint consensus candidate in the presidential polls against the BJP-led NDA nominee. 

In a statement, Gopalkrishna Gandhi said several esteemed leaders of the Opposition have done him the honour of thinking of him for the opposition's candidature in the upcoming elections for the presidency.

“Several esteemed leaders of the Opposition have done me the honour of thinking of me for the Opposition’s candidature in the upcoming elections for the highest office of Rashtrapati. I am most grateful to them. But having considered the matter deeply I see that the Opposition’s candidate should be one who will generate a national consensus and a national atmosphere beside Opposition unity. I feel there will be others who will do this far better than I. And so I have requested the leaders to give the opportunity to such a person,” the statement read.

He further noted, “And so I have requested the leaders to give the opportunity to such a person. May India get a President worthy of the office presaged by Rajaji as the last Governor General and inaugurated by Dr Rajendra Prasad as our first President.”

After Gopalkrishna Gandhi withdrew from the election, the major opposition parties will likely meet on Tuesday to deliberate on a consensus candidate for the presidential polls.

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77-year-old Gopalkrishna Gandhi was India’s High Commissioner to South Africa and Sri Lanka. He is the grandson of MK Gandhi and C Rajagopalachari. He was a consensus opposition candidate for the post of Vice President of India in 2017 but had lost to M Venkaiah Naidu in the election.