New Delhi [India], June 22 (ANI): The upcoming presidential election appears to be family affair versus party commitment for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Jayant Sinha, as his father and former Union minister Yashwant Sinha has been named the presidential candidate by the joint Opposition pitted against BJP's Draupadi Murmu.

"Hearty congratulations to Draupadi Murmu ji on being made the NDA's presidential candidate. Her life has always been dedicated to tribal society and poor welfare. For this decision, I offer thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president JP Nadda," Sinha said in a Twitter post.

"My father Yashwant Sinha ji, has been made a presidential candidate by the Opposition. I request all of you not to make it a family affair. I am a BJP worker and a parliamentarian. I will fulfil my Constitutional obligation," he saidFormer Union Minister and Trinamool Congress vice president Yashwant Sinha has been nominated as the consensus candidate from the Joint Opposition for the upcoming presidential elections which will take place on July 18, 2022. He will file his nomination on June 27 said Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu is likely to file her nomination on June 25, said sources on Tuesday. The late date for filing nominations for the presidential election is June 29, the polling will take place on July 18 and the votes will be counted on July 21.

Expressing his gratitude to West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, Sinha said, now a time has come when for a larger national cause to step aside from the party to work for greater opposition unity.

"I am grateful to Mamataji for the honour and prestige she bestowed on me in the TMC. Now a time has come when for a larger national cause I must step aside from the party to work for greater opposition unity. I am sure she approves of the step," he tweeted.

Former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha joined Trinamool Congress (TMC) in March 2021 ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections. Sinha, a former IAS, had served as the Union Minister of Finance and External Affairs in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet.

Droupadi Murmu, a tribal woman leader, was declared BJP-led NDA's presidential candidate. She is a former Governor of Jharkhand and a former Odisha minister and is NDA's pick against Yashwant Sinha. If elected, she will be the first tribal President of India and the country's second female President.

Murmu is the first presidential candidate from Odisha of a major political party or alliance. Coming from a poor tribal family in a village situated in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, a backward district in Odisha, Droupadi Murmu completed her studies despite challenging circumstances. She taught at Shri Aurobindo Integral Education Centre, Rairangpur. (ANI)