New Delhi: Talks for a common presidential candidate from the Opposition ranks gained momentum on Saturday with DMK chief M. Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanhimozhi meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi to invite her for her father’s birthday.
Some of the Opposition parties have also evinced interest in a “common minimum programme” (CMP) if their efforts at forging a broad-based “secular” coalition before the presidential poll in July are successful.
Kanhimozhi, who had met JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad on Friday, discussed the upcoming presidential poll with the Congress president, sources told this newspaper. The June 3 birthday celebrations of the DMK chief in Chennai is turning out to be the second-biggest Opposition’s show of strength after May 1, when all such parties came together to celebrate veteran socialist leader Madhu Limaye’s 95th birth anniversary.
Sources said that either Sonia Gandhi or her son and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will attend Mr Karunanidhi’s birthday bash.
Meanwhile, Opposition parties which have met among themselves as well as with the Congress president have held talks on whether there was a need to have a CMP if a grand anti-BJP alliance fructifies before the presidential poll.
Questioned whether the alliance was looking for a leader, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that there was a need for a CMP before that as it would set the rules of engagement for various parties.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has already put forward a proposal for such a CMP during his meeting with Sonia Gandhi.
Sources confirmed that Mr Kumar had discussed the matter with the Congress president, and said that his party was on the same page as Mr Yechury.
Many names have been doing the rounds for the Opposition presidential candidate. They are former West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, JD(U) Rajya Sabha leader Sharad Yadav and NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
There was also speculation that either Mr Kumar or Mr Yechury might emerge as the leader of the broad-based secular coalition.
