Amid the growing division in the Opposition camp over the upcoming Presidential election, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday announced that it will back Yashwant Sinha in the July 18 polls.
“AAP will support Opposition’s Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha. We respect Droupadi Murmu but we will vote for Yashwant Sinha,” AAP MP Sanjay Singh said.
The AAP had so far kept it’s cards close to its chest, not revealing if it will support opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha or BJP candidate Droupadi Murmu in the Presidential poll, voting for which will take place on Monday.
The decision was taken in the meeting attended by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other members of the PAC, including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, Punjab MP Raghav Chadha, and MLA Atishi, among others.
The AAP is the only non-BJP, non-Congress outfit with governments in two states — Delhi and Punjab. It has 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from the two states, including three from Delhi. Also, the party has 92 MLAs in Punjab, 62 in Delhi, and two in Goa.
Besides AAP, the ruling TRS in Telangana has also extended its support to the candidature of joint opposition nominee Sinha. The TRS, which was considered close to the NDA, made the move amid the BJP’s attempts to make inroads in Telangana. Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress will also back Sinha in the polls for which the counting will be taken up on July 21.
The presidential elections are expected to be a cakewalk for the NDA given the fact that with the support of some regional parties like BJD, YSR-CP, BSP, AIADMK, TDP, JDS, JMM, Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena, the vote share of Murmu has already crossed 60 per cent. It was 50 per cent at the time of her nomination.
Despite losing power at the hands of Eknath Shinde-BJP alliance in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray announced support to Murmu after 16 of its MPs urged him to back the NDA candidate, given her tribal roots.
A day later, Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand Multi Morcha also announced support to Murmu. The JMM is a coalition partner with the Congress in Jharkhand, and its proximity with the BJP has raised several eyebrows, amid speculations that the saffron party may attempt a Maharashtra in Jharkhand.
