In a rebuff to Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress, Congress today ruled out sparing Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for the Presidential race.
It has rejected the three names proposed by the two allies, sending signals that it was not in a mood to bow before them.
“We cannot afford to spare Dr Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. The other two names (A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Somnath Chatterjee) are not acceptable,” Congress General Secretary, Mr Janardan Dwivedi, told reporters.
“During UPA-II (election of leader), we have already said he (Singh) will remain the Prime Minister till 2014. Congress does not take such a step (of changing its leader) in between,” he said.
Sonia meets party leaders
His forthright assertion came after the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, held parleys with senior party leaders, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Mr A.K. Antony and Mr P. Chidambaram, at her residence in the wake of TMC and SP stunning the party by proposing the names of Dr Manmohan Singh, Mr Kalam and Mr Chatterjee as a counter to candidature of Mr Mukherjee and Vice-President, Mr Hamid Ansari.
Virtually disapproving of Trinamool chief Ms Mamata Banerjee’s action of disclosing the names of Mr Mukherjee and Mr Ansari as the first and second choices of Congress, Mr Dwivedi said the process of consultation was still on and Gandhi had not finalised any name.
Ms Gandhi is in the process of consulting even single-member parties and in the course of it two names have come up. “If Congress had decided on the name, two names would not have come up,” he said.
“There is a dignity to the process. When such talks are held, names are not discussed outside,” the Congress leader said, apparently referring to Ms Banerjee disclosing the names to the media immediately after meeting Ms Gandhi at her residence yesterday.
With key allies rejecting her choice for President, the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi, was huddled in meetings earlier in the day with senior leaders and allies to zero in on a consensus candidate.
Mr Mukherjee, who was named as the first choice by Ms Gandhi in her meeting with the Trinamool chief, Ms Mamata Banerjee, drove to 10, Janpath and was with her for about 30 minutes.
Senior Congress leaders, Mr A.K. Antony and Mr P. Chidambaram, also met Ms Sonia Gandhi, besides DMK leader, Mr T.R. Baalu.
The parleys came a day after Ms Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, rejected Ms Gandhi’s choice of Mr Mukherjee as also of Vice-President, Mr Hamid Ansari.
They have instead suggested the names of Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, former President, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and former Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr Somnath Chatterjee.
Mr Mukherjee did not speak to the media and left with his customary folded-hand greeting. The other Congress leaders were also tight-lipped.
Mr Baalu, who emerged last out of the meeting with Ms Gandhi said that Ms Sonia Gandhi will be announcing the name of the UPA Presidential candidate anytime later this week.
“Keeping in view of political stature and seniority in public life, my leader Karunanidhi was consulted by Madam last month through Antony. My leader had suggested a name. The name has been communicated by Antony to Madam. Madam at any point of time will be announcing the decision,” Mr Baalu told reporters.
He said the name of the person cannot be divulged as of now and parried questions on whether the candidate is among the five persons whose names have been made public.
“Madam will announce it shortly. Not today... At any point within this week,” he said.
When asked if DMK was fine with Mr Mukherjee’s candidature, he said: “it is between the two higher-ups. My leader has communicated the matter long back. We stand by it.”
Congress top brass to meet
Faced with dramatic developments in the Presidential race after allies proposed fresh names, Congress top brass, including the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the party chief, Ms Sonia Gandhi, will meet this evening to strategise a response.
The meeting will be the first formal deliberation of the top leaders of the ruling party a day after Ms Mamata Banerjee and Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav came out with the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s name as one of their choices in the Presidential race.
This dramatic turn of events left the Presidential race wide open and put the Congress in a dilemma. The party needs the support of both TMC and SP to ensure that its candidate wins.
Other allies such as DMK, NCP, RLD and NC, have already indicated their support for Mr Mukherjee.