|HT|
Former union minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday morning posted a tweet that could intensify the speculation of him being considered as the opposition's candidate for the July 18 presidential election. “I am grateful to Mamata ji for the honour and prestige she bestowed on me in the TMC. Now a time has come when for a larger national cause I must step aside from the party to work for greater opposition unity. I am sure she approves of the step,” the 84-year-old leader tweeted.
On being asked Sinha said he did not want to go beyond his tweet. Sources, however, have suggested that he is likely to be declared as the opposition's pick.
Yashwant Sinha, who has served as India's finance and foreign minister, has been the vice president of the Trinamool Congress. He had quit the BJP in 2018.
His tweet comes as opposition leaders hold a meeting at the residence of Sharad Pawar on Tuesday to hold discussions about the presidential polls, a day after West Bengal's ex governor and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, refused to be nominated for the post. Earlier, Pawar and National Conference patriarch Farooq Abdullah had turned down the offers.
(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)