Yashwant Sinha may
be a united opposition’s presidential nominee, but for his son Jayant, party
loyalty comes first. The 59-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP has made
it clear that he is a BJP ‘karyakarta’ and that he will fulfil his
constitutional responsibilities. Jayant Sinha’s statement on Twitter came after
a united opposition announced Yashwant Sinha as its presidential candidate in
the upcoming polls. Yashwant, a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
officer, will be up against Draupadi Murmu, former governor of Jharkhand, a
Santhal woman from Odisha.

In his tweet on
father Yashwant Sinha’s nomination as presidential candidate, Jayant Sinha
wrote in Hindi: “The opposition has made my honourable father Shri Yashwant Sinha
a presidential candidate. I appeal to you to not turn this into a family
matter. I am a @BJP4India worker and legislator. I will fulfil my
constitutional responsibilities to the fullest.” The tweet also contained a
video message from the Hazaribagh legislator.

Also Read | In Draupadi Murmu, BJP finds tribal face to follow Dalit president

Jayant Sinha and
his father Yashwant have been on opposing sides of the political spectrum since
Yashwant Sinha quit the BJP alleging that the Narendra Modi-led government was
undermining democratic institutions.

Yashwant Sinha had
served as a union minister in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government.

Also Read | Who is Draupadi Murmu?

Fissures in the
Sinha household became apparent after Yashwant Sinha slammed his son for garlanding
seven lynching accused. Jayant later clarified that he was not in support of
vigilantism but only sought justice for the innocent.

The 84-year-old
Yashwant Sinha was picked as the opposition’s consensus candidate for the
presidential polls after three other leaders refused to contest. Mamata
Banerjee who has been attempting to create a consensus candidate for the
opposition had first proposed the name of Sharad Pawar as presidential nominee.

Also Read | Draupadi Murmu, former Jharkhand governor, is BJP’s pick for next President

After Pawar refused, the next names proposed were that of Farooq Abdullah and
Gopalkrishna Gandhi. Both of them refused to become presidential nominees. The
opposition then struck upon the name of Yashwant Sinha who had recently joined
the Trinamool Congress.