Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar and M. Karunanidhi are emerging as players in the upcoming elections for President and vice-president.
While the current mood in the UPA and supporting parties is that the two posts could be elected through a 'give-and-take' formula, some Congress chief ministers are opposing it.
The total strength of the SP (22), Trinamul Congress (19), DMK (18) and the NCP (nine) in the Lok Sabha is 68. Besides, the SP, Trinamul and the NCP are ruling UP, West Bengal and Maharashtra. These leaders have good equations with the JD-U (20), BJD (14) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (four) ruling in Bihar, Orissa and Punjab.
Though Congress sources on Tuesday made it clear that the exercise for these elections has not yet begin in the party, a section of the UPA feels that leaders to these posts could be elected without a contest through a 'give-and-take' formula.
The BJP is in power in seven states — Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Goa. Its strength in the Lok Sabha is 113.
But neither the BJP nor the Congress (208 in the Lok Sabha) can win these elections without the support of the regional parties divided in the UPA, NDA and supporting parties.
Trinamul Congress supremo and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee did not disclose her card on this issue when a group of reporters drew her attention to it during her recent visit to New Delhi. But another UPA ally leader said: “We have to talk to the BJP on this issue. After all, they are in power in six states.”
The Congress will find it difficult to get its nominees elected with the help of the BSP (21), RJD (4) and others. The party is in power in AP, Maharashtra (with NCP), Assam, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttarakhand, besides some Northeast states.