Gopalkrishna calls on Naveen
In an interesting development, Mr Gopalkrishna Gandhi met Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, fuelling speculation that the visit was linked to the presidential polls.
Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ms Mayawati have declined to reveal their party strategies on the presidential election.
Mr Lalu Yadav, asked meanwhile about his party’s stand on former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, said, “Kalam has already been the President. Now Ansari should be made because he is an able person and his performance is also the best in the Rajya Sabha.”
Mr Mulayam Sigh Yadav said his party has not yet decided on any name for the presidential candidate, distancing himself from the comments made by party colleague Shahid Siddiqui who had favoured Dr Abdul Kalam but later made a U-turn. “The party has not taken any decision on this,” Mr Mulayam Singh said.
Ms Mayawati said, “It is too early to comment. Let the name of the candidate be declared first, only then will we make our stand known.”
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‘Next prez must be from south’
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, April 24
Talk that the next President should be from south India has begun in the political circles at a time when the ruling UPA, Opposition NDA and regional parties have yet to open their cards on the issue of a presidential candidate. “If the Prime Minister is from north, then the next President should obviously be from south,” felt some leaders.
While former Presidents Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, R. Venkataraman and Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam were from Tamil Nadu, Varahagiri Venkata Giri and Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy were from Andhra and K.R. Narayanan from Kerala. Karnataka is perhaps the only state in the south which could not get the President’s post.
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