BJP to wait for NDA consensus

Days after its senior leader Sushma Swaraj firmly rejected the idea of any consensus for the presidential elections 2012, and also declared that her party would not be supporting either vice-president Hamid Ansari or senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee for the post, the BJP has been forced to amend its position.

“We shall not comment on this issue, until the discussions are held within the National Democratic Alliance,” said party spokesperson Shahnawaz Husain.

This prompt revision of its stance has been forced by the strong opposition from the NDA convenor and senior Janata Dal(U) leader Sharad Yadav made it clear that the views expressed by Swaraj were not shared by the NDA. Swaraj too took some corrective action and met Yadav.

It is now expected that a formal meeting of the NDA would be held to work out the strategy for the presidential elections.

Swaraj’s  caustic observation that Ansari lacked the “stature” to be a president has also provoked sharp reactions.

“When someone has been the vice-president for sive years, how does a question about his stature become relevant,” said Congress spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary.

Chaudhary said the Congress would take all steps to work out a consensus. “We shall reach out to all parties, but then we are a political party, and if comes to a contest, we are ready to face it,” she added.

She was responding to questions on whether Congress is ruling out contest for the top job by repeatedly stressing on its desire for “widest possible consensus” on the issue.