BJP puts onus on UPA for a consensus Presidential candidate

New Delhi, May 23 (UNI) The Bharatiya Janata Party today endorsed Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav's stand that the ruling UPA should take the initiative to evolve a consensus on the Presidential candidate.

Reacting to Mr Yadav's statement, a BJP leader on condition of anonymity said he agreed with Mr Yadav that being the ruling combine, the UPA should shoulder the responsibility of evolving a consensus over the issue.

He said the statement of senior party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who has been authorised by the NDA to discuss with ally parties their preferences, that he was willing to talk consensus on the issue was ''very significant''.

''We would like to judge the mood in the UPA, candidate and the winnability factor and make our assessment,'' the leader said.

In UPA, there appears to be no unanimity, as the Left parties had set conditions for extending its support to the ruling coalition candidate. ''Let a consensus emerge in UPA than we will consider,'' BJP sources said.

Earlier in the day, BJP President Rajnath Singh declined to comment on Mr Vajpayee's statement by saying that it was for the media to infer their own meaning. ''The NDA has authorised Mr Vajpayee to talk to parties on consensus candidate and the NDA will take a final decision,'' he said.

Mr Yadav said the names of candidates doing the rounds were all ''media speculation'' and none of them had been cleared. He supported Mr Vajpayee's views that the country needed a consensus candidate as the next President.

UNI