New Delhi: TMC Supremo & West Bengal Chief Minister Mamatha Benarjee said that the opposition parties are going to contest in Presidential elections by choosing a leader unanimously who is acceptable to all parties.

Mamatha Benarjee said NCP Chief Sharad Pawar’s candidature is acceptable to all parties but, we have not finalized it we will finalize in another round of meeting before filing the nominations. She convened a meeting on Wednesday in New Delhi, 16 opposition parties attended the meeting though six parties did not attend which she invited for the meeting.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamatha Banerjee, told reporters later that the opposition needed to sit together to discuss the bulldozing taking place in the country. They decided on a 21^st June deadline for naming a presidential candidate versus the nominee of the BJP and its allies. Mamatha Banerjee, Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge will consult with various parties to build consensus on a name.

At the end of the meeting, she took the names of Gopal Gandhi and NC leader Farooq Abdullah. Sharad Pawar had the support of many parties, including Mamatha Banerjee’s TMC, Left, the Congress and the Shiv Sena. If Sharad Pawar agreed, everybody will give him support. But Pawarji does not agree, we will discuss, she said.

The presidential elections will take place on July 18^th and the results will be declared on July 21^st. June 29^th is the last date for nominations. The Akali Dal and AAP also opted out, protesting the Congress’ presence. AAP said it will consider the matter only after the Presidential candidate is declared. The TRS said there was no question of sharing any platform with the Congress.