Sonia wants Karuna in Delhi during prez polls

United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi wants Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam M Karunanidhi to be present when the Congress nominee for the presidential polls presents his/her nomination papers on June 16 to Returning Officer V K Aghnihotri in Parliament House, say sources in New Delhi.

This is what Gandhi told Karunanidhi's son and senior DMK leader M K Stalin when he met her on Wednesday along with parliamentary party leader T R Baalu. DMK members of Parliament have also been informally told to be in Delhi all through next week as Karunanidhi may be in the national capital.

Since Karunanidhi is an MLA, he is entitled to sign the nomination papers -- there will be14 sets of nominations papers for a Congress nominee and each ally will have a chance to propose the name.

Gandhi apparently considers Karunanidhi only next to Jyoti Basu (late Communist Party of India-Marxist veteran) and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as her mentors. It may be recalled that Karunanidhi in 2004 openly declared that Gandhi was not a foreigner and she stands the best chance to become the prime minister of India.