Amid a buzz doing the rounds over his name for being a possible choice of the Opposition for the presidential election, former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Wednesday said it is “too premature” for him to comment on it. Gandhi, who is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and C Rajagopalachari, was the consensus opposition candidate for the post of Vice President of India in 2017 but had lost to M Venkaiah Naidu in the election.
When asked about the possibility of him contesting the presidential polls, Gandhi told news agency PTI, “It is too premature to comment on it.”
According to agency sources, some Opposition leaders have discussed the same with Gandhi over the phone and urged him to consider their request for being the joint opposition candidate for the post of President. Sources further said that the 77-year-old former bureaucrat has sought some time to respond to it.
Gandhi has also served as India’s High Commissioner to South Africa and Sri Lanka. On Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with various Opposition parties to deliberate on the its choice of a presidential nominee.
A few days ago, some leaders had proposed the name of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, but the he has declined to contest.
The election to elect a successor to incumbent Ram Nath Kovind would be held on July 18. Kovind had defeated joint opposition nominee Meira Kumar in the last presidential election.
(with inputs from PTI)
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