Race to Raisina Hills
From Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi: In a day of fast developments, Rashtrapati Bhawan aspirant Purno A Sangma both gained and lost ground in the race to Raisina Hills but maintained that his tribal and Northeast credentials will help him achieve his goal.
Talking to a group of journalists from the region at his Delhi residence on Monday, Sangma said that he had held talks with the MPs from Nagaland and Sikkim who have promised him their support.
“Cutting across party lines, I will also talk with each MP from the Northeast and the Northeast MPs’ Forum for their vital support,” he said.
“It is not just a question to which party you belong to but whom you represent and from where,” the veteran leader said.
His son Conrad Sangma is meeting AGP leader and former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta to garner AGP’s support for his father.
But in a setback, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday declined his support to Sangma despite hectic efforts by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
This will be a big loss for the former Lok Sabha Speaker who was counting on Uttar Pradesh which has the maximum number of MPs.
Meanwhile, in what may be termed as Sangma’s gain, chinks seem to have appeared in the ruling UPA’s armory with West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee remaining non-committal on Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee as the next President even though she strongly backed Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar or former West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi or even former President APJ Abdul Kalam for the top post.
It is for the Congress to decide who its candidate is,” Banerjee said, adding that in a Democracy everything depends on the majority verdict.
However, both the major national parties – ruling Congress and opposition BJP – are yet to open their cards. While BJP might support Sangma, Congress would choose its own man as president considering that general elections in the country are due in 2014.
BJP has already indicated that it has no objection to Sangma’s candidature but there are fissures within the NDA with JD(U) reportedly upset with the saffron party.
