BJP to back consensus candidate against Sonia: Kalyan

Lucknow, Apr 5 (UNI) The Bharatiya Janata Party today announced that it would support a consensus candidate against Congress President Sonia Gandhi from the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency in the May 8 bypoll.

''The BJP will support any candidate or independent but a consensus among all the political parties should be arrived at before hand,'' BJP National Vice President and Utar Pradesh in-charge Kalyan Singh said at the concluding session of the two-day State Party Executive here at the party headquarters.

However, without naming the BSP, he expressed regret tha one party had already said it would not field a candidate against Ms Gandhi.

The BJP was willing to support a common candidate against Ms Gandhi but consensus was necessary, Mr Singh said.

The ruling Samajwadi Party and expelled BJP leader Uma Bharti have announced their decision to field strong candidates against the Congress president while the BSP has decided against it.

Ms Bharti, who has said she would field a candidate from her to-be-launched party, had written letters to all the political parties to support her party's candidate from Rae Bareli.

The bypoll to the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat was necessitated after Ms Gandhi resigned from Parliament on the office of profit issue. She is seeking re-election to the Lok Sabha from there.

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