JD(U) leader Tiwari pitches for Pranab as President

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JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari on Saturday said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee should be elected to the President's post with consensus.

"First of all, I want to congratulate him. This is a positive step of Congress in favour of Pranab Mukherjee. He is a very senior and a respected leader, and my personal opinion is that as he should be elected to the President's post with consensus," Tiwari said.

Tiwari further said a senior and respected leader like Pranab Mukherjee, who is going into retire (from active politics) should be given a graceful send off.

He, however, said that a decision needed to be taken at the meeting of the NDA where 'we will put forward our viewpoints'.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi formally announced Mukherjee as the ruling alliance's presidential candidate, which the latter accepted with humility.

Coalition partners also congratulated Mukherjee on his nomination and presented him, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi with shawls.

The presidential elections will be held on July 19. The vote count will take place on July 22.

If he wins, Mukherjee will become the nation's 13th President on July 25.

Mukherjee has served as finance minister, foreign minister and commerce minister twice and also as defence minister. He chairs most of the cabinet committees tasked with making recommendations on important issues.