New Delhi: Yashwant Sinha, a former Union Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, on Tuesday was named the joint opposition candidate for President polls while the BJP is yet to announce its pick for the July polls, reports NDTV.
Opposition leaders, who gathered at the Parliament annexe for the meeting convened by NCP chief Sharad Pawar, unanimously agreed on Mr Sinha's name.
The joint statement appealed to the BJP and its allies to support the candidature of Mr Sinha so that the nation can have a "worthy Rashtrapati elected unopposed".
A committee has been formed to steer Yashwant Sinha's campaign.
"We regret Modi government made no serious effort to have consensus on a presidential candidate," said Mr Ramesh.
Reading out the joint statement, he added that the unity of opposition parties forged for presidential poll will be further consolidated in the months ahead
Earlier in the day, Mr Sinha, a Trinamool leader, dropped the big hint about his candidature when he said he "must step aside" from the party to work for greater opposition unity.
Former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah had earlier declined to run for President.
The BJP will also hold its parliamentary board meeting today where it's likely to finalise its pick for the presidential polls.
The process to elect a new president began on June 15. The last date for filing of nominations is June 29. The polls, if necessary, will be held on July 18 and the counting on July.
