Oppn may even desert own presidential candidate for Murmu!

New Delhi: The opposition parties have made Yashwant Sinha their ‘common’ candidate for the post of President. He hails from Jharkhand and has been a MP from Hazaribagh seat. In such a situation, it was expected that if the opposition would make him a candidate for the post of President, then he would get the support of the parties along with MPs and MLAs of Jharkhand. But after the BJP fielded Draupadi Murmu as its candidate, the hope of that support is now over. Draupadi Murmu is a Santhal tribal and has been the governor of Jharkhand. She is going to be the first tribal president of the country. Therefore, she will get full support of Jharkhand. Apart from Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, it will not be a surprise if she gets the support of other MLAs and MPs. Keep in mind Shibu Soren is also a Santhal tribal and has fought for the interests of tribals and protection of ‘Jal-Jangal-Jameen’ throughout his life.

Draupadi Murmu hails from Odisha and state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has already said that it is a matter of pride for Odisha that she is the Presidential candidate. He told that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken to him about this. So, BJP will get complete support of Biju Janata Dal. However, the big question is about Chhattisgarh. There is a Congress government in this tribal-dominated state and the Congress has supported Yashwant Sinha’s candidature. But considering the importance of the tribal votes of Chhattisgarh, the party will have to take a decision.

Murmu is the first tribal in the country to reach the highest position. In such a situation, Congress as a party will have to reconsider its decision. Keep in mind that Congress has once already supported NDA’s presidential candidate APJ Abdul Kalam. Prior to that, the candidature of KR Narayanan was also supported by both Congress and BJP together. Therefore, if Congress supports Draupadi Murmu too, then it will not be a big deal. However, the difference this time as compared to earlier is that the harmony between BJP and Congress is very disturbed, whereas in the past, the relations were good despite the parties being at opposite ends ideologically.