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Shekhawat our candidate: Sushma
Satish Misra
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 22
With UNPA failing to convince President A.P.J Abdul Kalam to contest for a second term in the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the election for the country's top post is going to be between UPA's candidate Pratibha Patil and Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat who is contesting as an independent with the support of the NDA.

Briefing mediapersons about the meeting between the NDA leaders and UPA leaders at the residence of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the opposition alliance spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said "Shekhawat was our candidate, is our candidate and will remain our candidate".

About UNPA's support to Shekhawat, Swaraj said "we have formally sought the Third Front support and they will get back to us".

BJP chief Rajnath Singh endorsed Sushma's view by saying that the UNPA was yet to get back to the NDA on the issue of supporting a candidate for presidentship.

Emerging from an hour-long meeting between UNPA and NDA, followed by brief deliberations among constituents of NDA at Vajpayee's residence here this evening, the BJP chief said, ''Our talks with the third front are over. Now we will wait for their response.”

Meanwhile, a top BJP leader said they had sought UNPA's support for the candidature of Shekhawat. But while stating this, he acknowledged that the Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav might have some reservation about supporting Shekhawat but added that other constituents of the third front should have no such problem.

Sources said the UNPA would weigh its options carefully before deciding about its next move. Though it is difficult for the TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav to support Shekhawat openly, yet giving support to the NDA candidate for other UNPA constituents should be no problem.

UNPA flays ministers’ remarks about Kalam
Prashant Sood
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 22
With President APJ Abdul finally declining the offer by UNPA to run for another term, the newly-floated front of eight parties today hit out at some ministers of the UPA government for making "wounding statements" and expressed gratitude to the NDA for supporting Kalam.

The UNPA leaders, who briefed the media after their meetings with Kalam and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said it was very gracious of the NDA to support Kalam. "We went today to thank them for offer of support in case Kalam agrees to contest," AIADMK leader

Jayalalithaa said UNPA would not support the candidate put up by the UPA or NDA and will take some time to finalise its stand.

She said some UPA ministers had issued "wounding statements" on Kalam's earlier remarks about his possibility of contesting if there is certainty. "The uncivilised, unbecoming language does not behove the office they hold. The language they used was totally uncalled for and denigrated the high office of President," she said.

The AIADMK leader indirectly accused the UPA leadership of bringing "selfish considerations" in the choice of its candidate.

Jayalalithaa said Kalam was deeply wounded by the statements and did not want the post to be dragged into unseemly politics.

Replying to a query, she said the UNPA had not been late in proposing name of Kalam and seeking consensus. "We have been trying to muster support of the entire political spectrum," she said, adding UNPA decision to back seek second term for Kalam was reflection of will of the majority in the country.

The AIADMK leader said UNPA had proposed name of Kalam when presidential election was getting highly politicised. "Ideally, such post should be above political consideration.