Jayalalithaa steps up campaign for Sangma, speaks to non-Cong leaders

Chennai: Lobbying for PA Sangma's candidature for the presidential polls, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Sunday spoke to BJP leader LK Advani, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and other non-Congress leaders including those from the Left parties.

Sticking to his earlier stand, Sharad Pawar, leader of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of which Mr Sangma is a leader, has said his party will abide by the UPA's "collective decision". Mr Pawar maintained, "we are part of the UPA and will stick to UPA's collective decision".

Ms Jayalalithaa, who along with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has pitched for Mr Sangma, spoke over telephone to Mr Advani, Mr Yadav, CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat, CPI leader AB Bardhan, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, an AIADMK statement said.

As part of the "intensified efforts" to garner support for Mr Sangma, Ms Jayalalithaa spoke to these leaders seeking their support for the tribal leader from the north-east who "has all the qualifications" (to become President) in the coming Presidential polls, it said.

Ms Jayalalithaa's latest initiative comes two days after she asked all parties to "rise above political considerations," and support the tribal leader for the top job.

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In a coordinated move, Ms Jayalalithaa and her Odisha counterpart had on May 17 announced their joint support to Mr Sangma.

The AIADMK chief had held consultations with Mr Patnaik besides within her party before announcing her support to Mr Sangma, who himself had called on her on May 15.

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While the names of Vice President Hamid Ansari and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee have been doing the rounds as front runners for President's post, there has been no official word on it from the Congress.

The Congress is holding consultations with its allies to evolve a consensus and the BJP is also trying to rally support among NDA allies on a common choice for the presidential polls due in July this year.

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