Congress President Sonia Gandhi has convened a meeting of Opposition parties on Friday to discuss the upcoming Presidential polls.

While a section of the Opposition has demanded a second term for President Pranab Mukherjee, the names of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former JD(U) President Sharad Yadav, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and former bureaucrat and West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi were also making the rounds as a possible Opposition candidate.

Leaders of Opposition parties have been maintaining that the next President should have impeccable secular credentials, as they feared the country faces threats from the Sangh Parivar. The ruling NDA is short of votes worth around 25,000 and the Opposition believes a joint effort can help its candidate win.

Apart from the Congress, representatives from the Left parties, SP, RJD, JD(U), NCP, DMK and the Trinamool Congress are likely to participate in the meeting. A source said an invitation had been extended to the BSP too, but the party has not confirmed participation.

The meeting will take place at the Parliament Library building. Leaders from the Opposition have been meeting informally on the issue. The BJD has also expressed its keenness to support a secular person to the top post.

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