Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that A P J Abdul Kalam was her party's first choice for the post of President.
"A P J Abdul Kalam is our first choice for presidential election. When I attended a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance about a month back, I had said this," Banerjee told PTI in Kolkata.
"We want a person like Abdul Kalam who is impartial and has a stature," she said.
Asked if Trinamool Congress, a National Democratic Alliance partner, would support the candidature of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, she said, "If President Kalam contests the presidential poll, we will support him. Even presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had stated that he would be happy if consensus can be achieved on the candidature of incumbent A P J Abdul Kalam."
Banerjee said that she did not have any talk with the newly-formed United National Progressive Alliance, a front of eight regional parties including All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telugu Desam Party and Samajwadi Party, which supported the candidature of Kalam.
"Even last time I had proposed the name of Kalam and this time also he is our first choice," she said.
She, however, refused to say anything on who her party would support if Kalam refused to contest for the second term.
"I will not say anything more on this now. Whatever I have to say I have said," she added.
Shekhawat had met the Trinamool Congress chief on May 31 during his visit to Kolkata. Banerjee had, however, described the visit as a courtesy call and said that they had not discussed the presidential election.
