Advani steps in to end tussle on presidential election

An ongoing tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party and its alliance partner, the Janata Dal (United), over the choice of a suitable candidate for the coming presidential election has forced L K Advani to step in as a mediator. The BJP veteran has spoken to JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, convener of the principal opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), to pacify the allies and build a consensus on the name of a candidate.

JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and members of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) were so upset with the unilateral statements of the BJP that the saffron party’s Sushma Swaraj, who is leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, also met Yadav in Parliament. That was only to convince him that her comment on the presidential election was not of the NDA. She also assured him that none of the NDA members would from now on issue a statement till the time the alliance partners took a collective decision.