Jammu: The joint opposition candidate for the presidential poll Yashwant Sinha, as a part of his countrywide campaign, will visit J&K on July 9 to seek support of political parties here and meet people of the Union Territory.
It was decided during a meeting of senior leaders of opposition parties at the residence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar in New Delhi this morning.
Reports quoting anonymous sources who attended the meeting stated that during the meeting it was decided that Sinha will visit Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, Gujarat on Friday after which he would go to Jammu and Kashmir on July 9.
Later in the day, National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah, while responding to media queries in Srinagar, too, had confirmed the visit of Sinha to J&K.
The National Conference has already announced its support for Sinha. In fact, Farooq, himself, had accompanied Sinha along with other senior opposition leaders when he (Sinha) had filed his nomination on June 27.
“Yashwant Sinha ji is coming here on July 9. We (opposition) will deliberate our issues with him. He will address a press conference also and you (media) will be invited there. There you may pose your queries to him as well,” Farooq said in response to a question.
Going by the confirmed support from NC, Sinha is likely to get 2100 votes from Jammu and Kashmir from where only five Members of Parliament (MPs) are eligible to cast vote in the presidential poll to be held on July 18. Each MP has a vote value of 700.
NC has three MPs viz., Dr Farooq Abdullah, Muhammad Akbar Lone and Justice (retired) Hasnain Masoodi while BJP has two MPs i.e., Dr Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma.
The electoral college for the election of President of India comprises elected members of the two Houses of the Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of State and the Union Territories.
Union Territory of J&K, presently, does not have an elected Legislature. Besides, J&K, at present, has no representative in the Rajya Sabha as well. This will mean that there will be a shortfall of 9280 votes from J&K in the presidential poll this time.
NDA’s joint candidate for the post of the President is Draupadi Murmu.