The INDIA bloc will put up a joint candidate for the vice presidential polls and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is reaching out to opposition parties to explore names and reach a consensus on it, sources said Sunday.

Though there has not been any structured discussion on picking a candidate, backchannel talks are on among INDIA bloc partners to deliberate on names of possible candidates with Kharge reaching out to opposition parties for building a consensus. There is consensus among parties that the INDIA bloc will put up a joint candidate for the vice presidential polls, Congress sources said. However, a section in the opposition camp believes that the INDIA bloc must decide their candidate after the BJP announces its pick. 

This comes at a time of heightened unity among INDIA bloc constituents who have vowed to fight against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and alleged poll rigging. In a show of unity, top INDIA bloc leaders held a dinner meeting at the residence of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday and vowed to fight the electoral rolls' revision in Bihar as well as what they described as the “vote chori model” of the BJP-Election Commission.