Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh Tuesday briefly met Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, giving way to speculations over his lobbying for the vice president’s post.
Jaswant Singh was seen driving into Yadav’s residence here in the morning, when yoga guru Baba Ramdev was there to discuss the issue of black money with the SP chief.
The three, according to sources, discussed the issue of black money, which is being actively taken up by the BJP as well.
Yadav came out to see-off Jaswant Singh, and the two were seen chatting for a while.
However, the meeting sent signals over the BJP lobbying for the vice president’s post in the upcoming presidential polls.
According to sources close to the BJP, the party is likely to pitch for its candidate for the post.
The name of Jaswant Singh is being talked about. He himself has also taken up this issue inside and outside the party.
A source in the BJP, however, said the meeting was to discuss “personal matters” and was not related to the presidential polls.
Both Congress and BJP, along with their allies, have so far maintained silence over the preference of candidates for the posts of president and vice president.
The name of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is making the rounds as the most probable candidate for the post of the president.
SP is likely to support Congress’s presidential candidate.
Sources in the party, however, said their party was unlikely to support a BJP candidate for the vice president’s post.
The SP, which emerged strong after winning the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, initially wanted a Muslim or Dalit candidate for the top post.
With Mukherjee’s name making the rounds now, they are likely to ask for a Muslim or Dalit candidate for the post of the vice president.
The Election Commission Tuesday announced that the presidential election would be held July 19, setting the ball rolling for the process to decide on who would be the next occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.