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A united opposition on Friday decided to put up a joint candidate for presidential elections if they do not reach a consensus on the nominee proposed by the Modi government.

The decision on the conditional contest for the presidential election was taken at a luncheon meeting hosted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi that brought arch-rivals Samajwadi Party and BSP’s Mayawati, and the Left parties and Trinamool supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the same table.

The unity of opposition forces, which the leaders said would continue for the next Lok Sabha elections, came on a day when the Modi government marked its third year in office. Leaders of 17 political parties joined the high table with Gandhi.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and President, National Conference Omar Abdullah after a meeting to discuss the strategy for the upcoming Presidential elections, in New Delhi on Friday. PTI Photo

A prominent absentee at Gandhi’s luncheon was Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and join him for a banquet hosted in honour of visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.

A JD(U) spokesperson scotched suggestions of a break in opposition unity pointing out that the party was represented at the Gandhi luncheon by veteran member Sharad Yadav and the Kumar had conveyed to the Congress President his inability to attend the meeting.

Among those who attended the meeting include Rahul Gandhi, former PM Manmohan Singh, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, NC leader Omar Abdullah, Left leaders Sitaram Yechury, Sudhakar Reddy and NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Over lunch at the dining hall in the Parliament Library building, the opposition leaders decided to put the onus on the Modi government to make the first move by suggesting a presidential nominee that would be acceptable to all.

“The normal practice has been, that the ruling party takes the initiative to build a consensus, on the names of the candidates for these important offices. This has not happened so far,” said the joint statement read out by senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav.

“If acceptable, consensual candidates do not emerge, then we (Opposition parties) shall decide to field such persons who shall steadfastly defend the constitutional values of our Republic,” they said.

Banerjee said there was no harm in discussing a candidate with the government if it comes out with a name and referred to the 2002 Presidential election when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had floated A P J Abdul Kalam’s name and a consensus was evolved around it.

She said all the parties were united in criticism of the government over Kashmir, the violence in Saharanpur and demonetisation.

The joint statement said the opposition parties resolved to strengthen floor coordination in Parliament and “unitedly oppose the government’s policies that are imposing unprecedented further burden on all sections of our people - farmers, working people, youth, SCs, STs minorities, women and other weaker sections of the society in various parts of the country”.