Opposition split on President contest

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A divided Opposition is still undecided on putting up a joint candidate against UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee.

While the BJD and the AIADMK unilaterally announced the candidature of P.A. Sangma, Trinamul Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is following the line of 'ekla chalo' on former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Dr Kalam is yet to make up his mind on whether or not to fight the election for a second time.

The NDA, on the other hand, is divided, with the Janata Dal (United) and the Shiv Sena taking a different line on Dr Kalam. The BJP does not have any line of its own.

The NDA had wanted to back Dr Kalam after Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav had jointly proposed Dr Kalam’s name with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. But Mulayam Singh Yadav changed his stand within 24 hours and later backed the candidature of Mukherjee.

Currently, only Mamata Banerjee is pleading for Dr Kalam’s name.

Among the NDA, the JD(U) is opposed to Dr Kalam while the Shiv Sena is against the candidature of Sangma.

In the last presidential election, the Bal Thackeray-led party had voted for the incumbent President Pratibha Patil against the BJP-backed Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

Nobody should be surprised if it votes for Mukherjee this time. This can be possible if NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan convince Thackeray. According to sources, Chavan has already moved closer to the Shiv Sena.

The BJP leading the NDA has been lacking a short-term and long-term strategy with regard to this election.

While a section of the party has been keen on cooperating with the Congress under the 'give-and-take' line, it expects to get the vice-presidentship for backing Mukherjee.

But others oppose this very idea, viewing that this would dilute the BJP’s campaign against the Congress ahead of the crucial Assembly elections in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Instead, it wants to work with Patnaik and Jayalalithaa and thereby expand the NDA.

The chief ministers of Orissa and Tamil Nadu, Naveen Patnaik and J. Jayalaithaa, used to work closely with the Left maintaining an equal distance from the Congress and the BJP. But their unilateral announcement of Sangma’s candidature appeared to have made the Left and the TDP secondary.

The Left, the TDP and the Janata Dal (Secular) seem to be in a no hurry and will take their own time to decide whom to vote for in the July presidential election.

Different strokes, different voices

* Patnaik’s BJD, Jaya’s AIADMK back Sangma

* Mamata backs Kalam

* JD-U opposes Kalam, may back Pranab

* Sena against Sangma

* No clear BJP line