NEW DELHI: With the election for India's next President getting underway, all eyes are on the BJP to see who the ruling NDA's presidential candidate would be.

While the names of a prominent Muslim leader, Kerala governor Arif Mohammad Khan, tribal face and former Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu, and Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, a key Nadar leader from the South, are circulating in political circles as possible candidates, the BJP's nominee for the highest constitutional post will also be chosen with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in mind, in addition to the political arithmetic.

While the ruling NDA has about 50% of the vote in the electoral college, its important ally, the JD(U), has yet to declare which side it will back this time. The JD(U) has backed the UPA candidate on the last two times. The BJP and its NDA allies have fewer MLAs than they did in the 2017 presidential elections, but their number of MPs has increased since then.

The BJP is also hoping for assistance from non-NDA, non-UPA parties such as the ruling YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh and the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal in Odisha, as well as the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu.

Following the announcement of the presidential election timetable by the Election Commission on Thursday, BJP sources said the party's senior leaders will reach out to other parties, including the opposition, to establish an agreement on the candidate for Rashtrapati Bhavan.

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