By almost unilaterally announcing her party's support for the candidature of former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma for the President's post, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary J Jayalalithaa has queered the pitch and made it that much more difficult the search for a common opposition candidate.
In a statement on Thursday, Jayalalithaa said that she took the decision after consulting her colleagues and Biju Janata Dal chief Navin Patnaik.
Now the Bharatiya Janata Party has to go along with her choice or force a multi-cornered contest, something that has never happened.
The Left parties too will have to either back Sangma or go the Congress way.
In her statement, the Tamil Nadu chief minister said that Sangma met her on May 15 and sought her support.
She has said 'India has never had a President from a tribal community'.
"Sangma not only belongs to a tribal community but is also eminently qualified to be the President," she said.
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