New Delhi:
With Presidential polls right around the corner, could Dr Manmohan Singh be in the running for country's top post? "I am happy where I am," said the Prime Minister with laughter, when asked this question while on his way back from Myanmar.
There have been reports about some Congress leaders campaigning to push Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Rashtrapati Bhavan, but a senior leader told IANS that such a scenario was unlikely.
Officially, the Congress has refused to comment on a question that the Prime Minister had thrown his hat in the ring and insisted that the office of President should not be brought within the realm of speculation.
President Pratibha Patil's term ends on July 24 and speculation is rife about the next incumbent for the country's top post with a number of names already doing the rounds.
The ruling Congress and the opposition BJP have so far remained silent on the candidature issue, while NCP leader and former Speaker PA Sangma has jumped into the race.
Mr Sangma's candidature has been backed by two chief ministers - J Jayalalithaa (Tamil Nadu) and Naveen Patnaik (Odisha), while his own party, an ally of UPA, has not extended its support to him.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is considered as being among the frontrunners along with Vice President Hamid Ansari from the ruling Congress. A meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) has been called June 4 to discuss the current political situation, with the party's highest decision-making body also expected to pass a resolution authorising party chief Sonia Gandhi to choose the presidential nominee, party sources said.
Other regional parties like the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have not extended their clear support to any candidate so far, even though some of them have been involved in discussions with other parties in a bid to evolve some consensus candidate.
There is an electoral college of around 11 lakh votes, with UPA set to get a majority support with the help of its allies and certain non-UPA parties.