New Delhi: The race for Presidential elections in heating up. Failing to find any consensus candidate, the BJP-led NDA and Mamata Banerjee-led Opposition have announced their separate candidates for the coveted constitutional post.
The BJP zeroed in on the former Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu as its pick for the upcoming Presidential elections while Opposition chose Yashwant Sinha as its candidate. The surprise announcement of Yashwant Sinha as Opposition candidate comes after Opposition’s failed bids to pick & convince 3 faces including NCP chief Sharad Pawar, NC President Farooq Abdullah and Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Gopal Krishna Gandhi.
The fielding of Yashwant Sinha as BJP Presidential candidate, though not surprising, has evoked talks about his prior innings & long political career with the BJP. Lately, the seasoned politician has been harshly critical of the BJP regime and also denounced it over many issues.
Yashwant Sinha, the bureaucrat turned politician has served the nation in various capacities before getting nominated as Opposition Prez candidate. As an IAS officer, he was an able administrator while was an acclaimed Minister of Finance & External Affairs in Atal Bihari Vajpyeee government.
He secured 12th rank in the Civil Service Examinations and went on to become IAS officer, serving in various positions as bureaucrat
In 1984, he was so much moved by the Jayaprakash Narayan movement that he resigned from the administrative service and began political journey as member of Janata Party (JP).
How Sinha’s tryst with BJP began
Yashwant Sinha was fielded by the JP from Hazaribagh seat in 1984 Lok Sabha elections but lost. In 1988, he was nominated by the party for the first time.
When Janata Dal formed govt under Chandrashekhar in 1990, he was made Finance Minister by Chandra Shekhar in his government. Later, he joined BJP and in 1996 and was appointed BJP national spokesperson.
Yashwant Sinha was counted among BJP patriarch LK Advani’s favourite leaders.
