With President Pranab Mukherjee’s term set to end just two months from now, the race for Raisina Hill is starting to heat up.

Leaders of Opposition parties are scheduled to meet on Friday to zero in on a consensus candidate. Congress President Sonia Gandhi has convened the meeting which will be attended by Trinamool Congress’ Mamata Banerjee, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Lalu Prasad Yadav and Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav.

President Pranab Mukherjee is eligible for a second term and the Congress veteran would sail through should the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominate him. However, it appears that the NDA wants to put forward its own candidate.

The President is chosen by an electoral college comprising elected MPs and MLAs. While the BJP is the single largest party in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and rules more states than any other party, its candidate is not guaranteed to win and it will need the help of a neutral like the AIADMK to take it over the line.

While there has been no official word yet, several names have been doing the rounds in both camps. Here’s a round-up of the top contenders so far:

NDA

Sumitra Mahajan

Sumitra Mahajan is the current Speaker of the Lok Sabha and is the longest-serving woman MP. She was the minister for human resources, communication and petroleum in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government (1999-2004). She has also headed several parliamentary committees.

Draupadi Murmu

Draupadi Murmu is believed to be one of the top contenders. Hailing from Odisha, the BJP leader served as a minister in the state government. She is currently serving as the first woman governor of Jharkhand. If elected, she will be the first person from a tribal community to become President.

LK Advani

The BJP stalwart has served as Union Home Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and twice as Leader of Opposition. But his advanced age (89) and a pending Babri Masjid case will most likely work against him.

Murli Manohar Joshi

Joshi is a senior BJP leader who served as the Human Resource Development minister in the Vajpayee government. He is close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. But like Advani, he too has the baggage of a Babri case potentially damaging his prospects.

Opposition

Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Gopalkrishna Gandhi is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. He is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who has also served as the joint-secretary to the President of India from 1987 to 1992. A former Governor of West Bengal, his clean image should work in his favour.

Meira Kumar

Hailing from Bihar, Kumar is a five-time Member of Parliament (MP) and the daughter of popular Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram. Kumar served as the first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2014, where she was known for her soft-spoken ways and calm demeanour amid frequent chaos. Before joining politics, Kumar worked with the Indian Foreign Service.

Sharad Pawar

Talk of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief being in the race has been doing the rounds for several months. Pawar has served as Maharashtra Chief Minister in the past and has frequently been considered as prime ministerial candidate. However, he is believed to have rejected a Congress offer to enter the race for the country's highest office.