New Delhi:   Opposition parties are holding a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the options before finalising a consensus candidate for the presidential elections due in July. The ruling BJP too has appointed a three-member committee to work towards a consensus candidate.

The idea for consensus candidate was first floated by Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar in a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi last week. Some other opposition parties are also keen on formulating a joint strategy.

The opposition meet on Wednesday comes soon after BJP president Amit Shah announced that a panel of three senior ministers — Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and M Venkaiah Naidu — would talk to allies and other parties on presidential candidates.

Sources said that a 10-member sub-group set up from among the Opposition parties will work towards finalising the candidates, while watching out for any move from the government's side.
The Opposition has already reached out to Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopal Krishna Gandhi for accepting its candidature. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is also being considered. Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad are Congress representatives in the sub-group. The other members are RJD’s Lalu Prasad, CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, Trinamool Congress's Derek O' Brien, JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party's Satish Chandra Mishra and the DMK's Alandur R S Bharthi.

The election for the post of President is due on July 17 and counting will take place on July 20. Analysts say that it is important for Opposition parties to make their presence felt during the polls though the outcome will depend on the majority vote in the Electoral College.