Race to Raisina Hill: Sangma seeks Advani's support

Former Lok Sabha speaker and Nationalist Congress Party leader P A Sangma met Bharatiya Janata Party veteran Lal Krishna Advani in New Delhi on Friday to seek support for his candidature for the coveted post of President of India.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik have so far backed Sangma's candidature as presidential candidate. In a coordinated move, Patnaik and Jayalalithaa had on May 17 announced their joint support for Sangma.

Sangma, who has been campaigning for a tribal president, had earlier urged the leaders of various political outfits to also support him. "I would like to appeal to leaders of all political parties to support the cause of tribals as Jayalalithaa and Naveen Patnaik has done. I appeal to all political parties," he said.

When asked whether the nation could hope to get a first president from northeast, Sangma said, "Well, it is not only northeast, we had one president earlier Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed had come from northeast. Region wise, I think we had been there once, but as a community tribal so far nobody has become president."

"People belonging to Scheduled Caste, people belonging to Sikh community or Muslim community had already become (president). So, we thought that we should also have a share of it," he added.

Sangma's meeting with Advani comes a day after Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam leaders T R Baalu and M K Stalin met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, and are believed to have discussed the issue of selection of a candidate for the presidential election.

DMK chief M Karunanidhi had earlier on May 5 said he had no objection if Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was chosen as the United Progressive Alliance's presidential candidate.

A fresh round of consultations on the issue of selection of a presidential nominee has begun in the UPA, after the Congress Working Committee authorised Sonia Gandhi to decide on the candidates for the coming presidential and vice presidential elections.

According to reports, the resolution, authorising her, was moved by Mukherjee.

The dilemma over the nomination of president continues with political parties remaining divided over a suitable candidate's name.

There have been reports that the Congress is reaching out to allies to arrive at a consensus on Vice President Hamid Ansari or Pranab Mukherjee for the coveted post.

President Pratibha Patil's term ends on July 25 this year.