New Delhi:
After meeting with key ally Mamata Banerjee today, Congress President Sonia Gandhi told NDTV "there is still time" to decide on the UPA's candidate for President of India. When asked if her party has finalised a name, she said "no names...there is time...be patient."
Sources say Mrs Gandhi wants to continue consultations with her own partymen and with allies on who to field. Ms Banerjee remains non-committal. She said today that it's important to find a candidate who evokes consensus. She also hinted her decision could be influenced by Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief who provides external support to the UPA. Between them Ms Banerjee and Mr Yadav, who met for an hour this evening, command 11% of the vote in the election for president. Mr Yadav, for his part, said he prefers "a political person" for the post, which suggests an edge for Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who along with Vice-President Hamid Ansari, is being assessed by the Congress as its pick.
Pratibha Patil's term as President expires in July; her successor will be elected in June. Key partners like Sharad Pawar and M Karunanidhi have already met with senior Congress leaders and indicated they have no objections to either Mr Ansari or Mr Mukherjee. But this afternoon, Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury created a few tremors when she suggested that Mr Mukherjee's widely-acknowledged political prowess makes him indispensable. "It will never be easy to leave Pranab da. He is such a valuable person for us in the party...He is too involved and knows politics so well," she said. Ms Banerjee referred to that comment later, suggesting, "I think he (Pranab) is no longer in the race."
After her meeting with Mrs Gandhi, Ms Banerjee joked, "I am the candidate." Sources say that this morning, Ms Banerjee indicated to senior Congress leader Kamal Nath that she is likely to support his party's choice. But as the Congress has learnt, Ms Banerjee is an unpredictable partner. For the presidential election, the votes of all MPs are placed at par with the votes of elected representatives in different states. So Ms Banerjee and Mr Yadav, whose parties won huge in state elections, have considerable clout with their combined 11% say. After that meeting, Ms Banerjee said that Mr Yadav and she often take the same stand. "
Joh bhi karengey, mil kar karengey (we will decide together)" she said.
Ms Banerjee will meet the Prime Minister on Friday. Her stand on the presidential elections could be affected by how the government reacts to her demand for a moratorium or abeyance of the interest her state owes for loans that run into thousands of crores.
In the last few days, the Congress, which leads the UPA, has been carefully consulting its different allies to ensure they will back its presidential candidate. Sharad Pawar, who heads the NCP, and M Karunanidhi of the DMK have both reportedly said that they will not object to either Mr Ansari or Mr Mukherjee as the government's presidential candidate. A bonus for the Congress is that the Left has also said that both options seem acceptable. "As far as Pranab Mukherjee is concerned, last time too, his name was doing the rounds and the Left had said that they have no objection...the point is not where do you stand or who do you stand with. Point is on whom can the consensus be built," Sitaram Yechury, CPI(M) Politburo Member said.
That makes life very tough for the BJP, which wanted to gather support among non-UPA parties for another presidential candidate. The election for President is a significant battle ahead of the general elections in 2014, and offers the BJP a chance to take on the Congress. But even its key ally, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has indicated that his party would be in favour of supporting a candidate who is accepted by most parties.