New Delhi:
It is finally official. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will run for President as the ruling UPA's candidate. His candidacy, ratified at a meeting of the Congress' allies at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's 7 Race Course Road residence, was announced by Congress president Sonia Gandhi this evening. Support is now rolling in - Mulayam Singh Yadav will support Mr Mukherjee after all.
The BSP's Mayawati too wasted no time in announcing that she found Mr Mukherjee the best candidate for President, despite her differences with the government on certain policies.
Mrs Gandhi said Mr Mukherjee had a long and distinguished record of public service and appealed to all political parties to support him. She was flanked by all the UPA allies as she made her announcement. Mamata Banerjee was conspicuous by her absence.
Nominee named, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has reportedly been reaching out to all political parties, including to the BJP; sources said he called Sushma Swaraj to try to bring the opposition on board for a consensus on Mr Mukherjee's candidacy. He is also reportedly calling leaders in Parliament of all other political parties now to gather support for Mr Mukherjee.
Congress leaders had also reportedly been working the back channels for the last two days to get Mr Yadav on board, though Mamata Banerjee reiterated this morning that Mr Yadav, like her, remains committed to backing former President APJ Abdul Kalam for a second term.
To get past the 50% mark in the electoral college, the Congress also lobbied the Left.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) met earlier today and said it would wait for the UPA to name its candidate before it played its hand. There have been indications earlier that they would not be very opposed to Mr Mukherjee, who enjoys a good rapport with both allies and Opposition leaders, being President.
After the NDA meeting today, senior BJP leader LK Advani seemed to leave the doors open for consultations and consensus when he said, "If the government wants to correct the situation, let it consult all parties." He added that his alliance was "ready to talk to anybody."
Mr Mukherjee is expected to resign as Finance Minister on June 24, after the Prime Minister returns from the G-20 summit in Mexico, and is likely to file his nomination papers on June 25. If he is elected President, the Congress has to find a replacement Finance Minister, a Leader of the Lok Sabha and a chief troubleshooter for the party. That's likely to be three different people.
After his name was announced, at the end of weeks of speculation and at least three days of intrigue and political skullduggery, Mr Mukherjee's daughter and danseuse Sharmishta said, "If his name has been proposed, he will definitely be the President of India...As a family there were moments of nervousness; now let's hope for the best."
And Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who represented his party, the National Conference at the UPA meeting, tweeted, "Congratulations to #Pranab Da. I have no doubt he will make an excellent president & I'm pleased to have been able to commit NC's support."
Mrs Gandhi was the first to arrive for today's UPA meeting. Dressed in vibrant green and pink, she exuded calm as she took her place beside the PM. Man of the moment, Mr Mukherjee, in a grey bandhgala suit, sat not far away as the allies held discussions.
The support of all its allies - minus Mamata Banerjee, who stands virtually isolated and has returned to Kolkata still asserting that she supports APJ Abdul Kalam for President - was reportedly in the bag by the time the UPA allies met at 4 pm.
The BSP's Mayawati too wasted no time in announcing that she found Mr Mukherjee the best candidate for President, despite her differences with the government on certain policies.
Mrs Gandhi said Mr Mukherjee had a long and distinguished record of public service and appealed to all political parties to support him. She was flanked by all the UPA allies as she made her announcement. Mamata Banerjee was conspicuous by her absence.
Nominee named, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has reportedly been reaching out to all political parties, including to the BJP; sources said he called Sushma Swaraj to try to bring the opposition on board for a consensus on Mr Mukherjee's candidacy. He is also reportedly calling leaders in Parliament of all other political parties now to gather support for Mr Mukherjee.
Congress leaders had also reportedly been working the back channels for the last two days to get Mr Yadav on board, though Mamata Banerjee reiterated this morning that Mr Yadav, like her, remains committed to backing former President APJ Abdul Kalam for a second term.
To get past the 50% mark in the electoral college, the Congress also lobbied the Left.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) met earlier today and said it would wait for the UPA to name its candidate before it played its hand. There have been indications earlier that they would not be very opposed to Mr Mukherjee, who enjoys a good rapport with both allies and Opposition leaders, being President.
After the NDA meeting today, senior BJP leader LK Advani seemed to leave the doors open for consultations and consensus when he said, "If the government wants to correct the situation, let it consult all parties." He added that his alliance was "ready to talk to anybody."
Mr Mukherjee is expected to resign as Finance Minister on June 24, after the Prime Minister returns from the G-20 summit in Mexico, and is likely to file his nomination papers on June 25. If he is elected President, the Congress has to find a replacement Finance Minister, a Leader of the Lok Sabha and a chief troubleshooter for the party. That's likely to be three different people.
After his name was announced, at the end of weeks of speculation and at least three days of intrigue and political skullduggery, Mr Mukherjee's daughter and danseuse Sharmishta said, "If his name has been proposed, he will definitely be the President of India...As a family there were moments of nervousness; now let's hope for the best."
And Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who represented his party, the National Conference at the UPA meeting, tweeted, "Congratulations to #Pranab Da. I have no doubt he will make an excellent president & I'm pleased to have been able to commit NC's support."
Mrs Gandhi was the first to arrive for today's UPA meeting. Dressed in vibrant green and pink, she exuded calm as she took her place beside the PM. Man of the moment, Mr Mukherjee, in a grey bandhgala suit, sat not far away as the allies held discussions.
The support of all its allies - minus Mamata Banerjee, who stands virtually isolated and has returned to Kolkata still asserting that she supports APJ Abdul Kalam for President - was reportedly in the bag by the time the UPA allies met at 4 pm.
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