Presidential election 2022: Farooq Abdullah says he will not contest

Opposition parties have stated they will not contest in the by-elections. Opposition leader Farooq Abdullah has said he will not contest for the presidency. His presence is needed when Jammu and Kashmir is going through a bad situation. Farooq Abdullah thanked Mamata Banerjee and other senior leaders for putting his name forward. Farooq Abdullah’s stance is a setback to the opposition’s move to field a consensus candidate.

NCP leader Sharad Pawar, who was considered a key figure in the opposition, had earlier said he would not contest. Pawar’s resignation was prompted by a lack of support from the BJP for a consensus candidate and health issues. Pawar briefed Sitaram Yechury and D Raja on his visit. Instead, he suggested the name of Ghulam Nabi Azad. Pawar later addressed a meeting convened by Mamata Banerjee to discuss the presidential candidate. With the resignation of Sharad Pawar, the names of Farooq Abdullah, Gopal Krishna Gandhi and Yashwant Sinha were under active consideration. With the resignation of Farooq Abdullah, the Opposition ‘choice’ is limited to Gopal Krishna Gandhi, Yashwant Sinha and Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The meeting, convened by Mamata Banerjee to discuss the presidential candidate, was attended by 17 opposition parties. Representatives of Congress, Trinamool Congress, CPM, CPI, Muslim League, RSP, Samajwadi Party, RLD, Shiv Sena, NCP, DMK, PDP, NC, RJD, JDS, JMM and CPI (M) were present at the meeting. But the TRS, BJD, AAP and Akali Dal did not attend the meeting.

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