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Kalam pulls out from Presidential race
New Delhi, June 18 (CMC) With no indication that there were enough numbers to ensure his return to Rashtrapati Bhavan, A P J Abdul Kalam declared today that he would not contest the presidential election.
Consequently, the BJP convene a meeting of its core committee — scheduled for late tonight — to formulate its response to the situation, and the position it would take at the NDA meeting expected tomorrow.
Neither the BJP nor Jayalalithaa and Naveen Patnaik — chief ministers who floated the candidature of former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma — had a problem with Kalam, whose name was being pushed by Mamata Banerjee, but doubted whether the former president would ultimately agree to fight again.
The BJP’s objectives were twofold: to fulfill its obligation as the principal opposition party to contest against the UPA nominee, and to seize the opportunity to begin working with Mamata, Jaya and Patnaik, all former allies who could possibly join the NDA in future. For the second reason, the BJP was not averse to Sangma either.
In a statement, Kalam said, “I have considered the totality of this matter and the present political situation, and decided not to contest the presidential election 2012.”
He clarified that he had “never aspired to serve another term or shown interest in contesting the elections” but Mamata and “other political parties” had wanted him to be a candidate. However, his “conscience” does not permit him to contest, Kalam said.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani has been in touch with Kalam over the phone for the past few days. Advani’s former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni had been talking to both Kalam and Mamata.
Ironically however, even as the BJP tried to reach out to three non-NDA chief ministers, two of its allies, JD(U) and Shiv Sena, appeared reluctant to back Sangma, and favoured the candidature of Pranab Mukherjee.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said he favoured a consensus on the candidate. He said he had a “good relationship” with Mukherjee, but his relations with Sangma were “not bad” either.
At NDA meetings, the JD(U) has been arguing against putting up a losing candidate against Mukherjee, who has all the qualifications to be President. However, the party obviously wants to keep its options open in view not just of the possibility of a hung house after the 2014 elections, but also of Narendra Modi making a bid for the leadership of the BJP after the Gujarat assembly polls later this year.
The Shiv Sena, which is not on the best of terms with Nitin Gadkari, has been keen to use the opportunity to demonstrate an independent line to the BJP. As things stand now, it is likely that the BJP and Akali Dal might support Sangma while the JD(U) and Sena votes Mukherjee.
Akali Dal leader and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said today, “We are a part of NDA and whatever decision they take, we will go with them.”
Meanwhile, even as the BJP leadership weighed its options, party MP Maneka Gandhi met Mukherjee at his North Block office today and pitched for a President chosen by consensus. However, another BJP Lok Sabha member, Shatrughan Sinha, asked Mukherjee to come clean on allegations made by civil society activists and clarify whether his nomination was a part of a “political deal”.
Kalam pulls out from Presidential race
Clean Media CorrespondentNew Delhi, June 18 (CMC) With no indication that there were enough numbers to ensure his return to Rashtrapati Bhavan, A P J Abdul Kalam declared today that he would not contest the presidential election.
Consequently, the BJP convene a meeting of its core committee — scheduled for late tonight — to formulate its response to the situation, and the position it would take at the NDA meeting expected tomorrow.
Neither the BJP nor Jayalalithaa and Naveen Patnaik — chief ministers who floated the candidature of former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma — had a problem with Kalam, whose name was being pushed by Mamata Banerjee, but doubted whether the former president would ultimately agree to fight again.
The BJP’s objectives were twofold: to fulfill its obligation as the principal opposition party to contest against the UPA nominee, and to seize the opportunity to begin working with Mamata, Jaya and Patnaik, all former allies who could possibly join the NDA in future. For the second reason, the BJP was not averse to Sangma either.
In a statement, Kalam said, “I have considered the totality of this matter and the present political situation, and decided not to contest the presidential election 2012.”
He clarified that he had “never aspired to serve another term or shown interest in contesting the elections” but Mamata and “other political parties” had wanted him to be a candidate. However, his “conscience” does not permit him to contest, Kalam said.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani has been in touch with Kalam over the phone for the past few days. Advani’s former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni had been talking to both Kalam and Mamata.
Ironically however, even as the BJP tried to reach out to three non-NDA chief ministers, two of its allies, JD(U) and Shiv Sena, appeared reluctant to back Sangma, and favoured the candidature of Pranab Mukherjee.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said he favoured a consensus on the candidate. He said he had a “good relationship” with Mukherjee, but his relations with Sangma were “not bad” either.
At NDA meetings, the JD(U) has been arguing against putting up a losing candidate against Mukherjee, who has all the qualifications to be President. However, the party obviously wants to keep its options open in view not just of the possibility of a hung house after the 2014 elections, but also of Narendra Modi making a bid for the leadership of the BJP after the Gujarat assembly polls later this year.
The Shiv Sena, which is not on the best of terms with Nitin Gadkari, has been keen to use the opportunity to demonstrate an independent line to the BJP. As things stand now, it is likely that the BJP and Akali Dal might support Sangma while the JD(U) and Sena votes Mukherjee.
Akali Dal leader and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said today, “We are a part of NDA and whatever decision they take, we will go with them.”
Meanwhile, even as the BJP leadership weighed its options, party MP Maneka Gandhi met Mukherjee at his North Block office today and pitched for a President chosen by consensus. However, another BJP Lok Sabha member, Shatrughan Sinha, asked Mukherjee to come clean on allegations made by civil society activists and clarify whether his nomination was a part of a “political deal”.
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