Shiv Sena, BJP 'two faces of one coin': Congress

With Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat's name being speculated as the next Presidential candidate, the Congress Party on Thursday while downplaying the same stated that no names have been finalised so far.

"The deliberations are still underway with regards to the presidential polls. The Shiv Sena and BJP, being two faces of one coin, share the same agenda. No names have been finalised so far. At present, the only focus of the Opposition is to fight the elections as one single unit, rather than individual political parties," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Opposition leaders held a meeting at the Parliament to discuss the road to the presidential polls.

Stressing on the importance of deliberating before reaching a consensus, senior advocate KTS Tulsi said it is essential to consider the opinion of all political factions, before arriving at a decision.

"The election is not a mere formality; opinions of all parties should be taken into account. I hope they arrive at a consensus," he said.

Meanwhile, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and M. Venkaiah Naidu will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday to discuss matters related to next month's presidential election.

Both have already spoken to Nationalist Congress Party's Praful Patel and Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Mishra.

Recently, Sonia Gandhi met various leaders from opposition parties to give a tough fight to the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government's candidate for the post of President.

Earlier this week, BJP president Amit Shah had formed a three-member committee, consisting of Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, M. Venkaiah Naidu and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for consultations with the opposition over likely candidates for president.

As President Pranab Mukherjee's term comes to an end on July 24, the Presidential election will be held on July 17.

The Election Commission said the last date of nomination is June 28 and the counting of votes will be taken up on July 20.

President Mukherjee will demit office on July 25 and Vice President Hamid Ansari will complete his second tenure in August.