AAP to back Yashwant Sinha for President, not Murmu

Interestingly, Sinha had not met AAP’s MLAs in Delhi and Punjab or its Rajya Sabha MPs during his visit to Chandigarh during his campaign trail

Ending suspense, the Aam Aadmi party (AAP) on Saturday announced support for joint Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the Presidential election scheduled to be held on Monday.

The decision was announced after a meeting of AAP's highest decision making body Political Affairs Committee, which party supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal chaired. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha, Atishi and others attended the meeting.

"The PAC has unanimously decided that the AAP will support Yashwant Sinha. We duly acknowledge and respect Draupadi Murmu's candidature as well. However, we have unanimously deemed it fit to support the joint candidate of the Opposition,” Singh said.

Read | Presidential poll: Opposition fails to make a point

AAP has votes with a value of 21,308 in the 10.86 lakh-strong electoral college – 10 MPs with a vote value of 7,000, Punjab MLAs (92) with a vote value of 10,672, Delhi MLAs (62) with a vote value of 3,596 and two MLAs in Goa with a vote value of 40.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party has not joined the two Opposition party deliberations last month to choose the joint candidate though the party had indicated to senior Opposition leader Sharad Pawar that they would support Sinha after his candidature was announced.

Delay in AAP's announcement had put a section of Opposition leaders suspicious of the party's intention though Kejriwal had personally conveyed to Sinha that he would get the support.

Kejriwal had earlier suggested that former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who left Congress and became an independent Rajya Sabha MP with the support of Samajwadi Party recently, be made the Presidential candidate but other Opposition parties were not in agreement.

The AAP chief had taken up his suggestion with Pawar in the run up to the second Opposition meeting on June 21. He is also learnt to have communicated this to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

Interestingly, Sinha had also not met AAP’s MLAs in Delhi and Punjab or its Rajya Sabha MPs during his visit to Chandigarh during his campaign trail.

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