A self-confessed admirer of Agatha Christie and her classic character Hercule Poirot, the former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Mr P.A Sangma, says he always believed in suspense and action.
Uproarious scenes in the Lower House during the tumultuous times of coalitions never bothered him. He welcomed the ruckus with a smile and pacified the warring MPs with ease.
Mr Sangma was in the Opposition when he was elected unanimously as Lok Sabha Speaker. His election as Speaker made history, as it was the first time someone from the Opposition was chosen.
But the election for the President’s post will be tough for Mr Sangma, who has failed to get support from his party, the Nationalist Congress Party, which he co-founded.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, a party he has opposed during his political career spanning over four decades, has decided to support him.
If elected, Mr Sangma will have many firsts — he will be the first tribal, the first Christian and the first person from the North-East to reach Raisina Hill.
In 1999, Mr Sangma broke his three-decade association with the Congress, objecting to the party’s decision to project Ms Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister, raking up the issue of her “foreign origin”.
He argued that top posts should not go to such people. Though later he patched up with Ms Gandhi, he never went back to the Congress.
In 2004, protesting against the NCP’s decision to back the Congress, Mr Sangma joined the Trinamool Congress, but later returned to the NCP. On Wednesday, he resigned from the party as it did not support his candidature for the post of President.
As Minister, Mr Sangma shone in the Cabinets of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao. Labour was his favourite portfolio.
Several of his speeches and lectures show his commitment to the cause of labourers, particularly those in the unorganised sector. He has also worked as Deputy Minister in the Home and Commerce Ministries.
Mr Sangma was the Chief Minister of Meghalaya too, for a brief period, and is an MLA in the Meghalaya Assembly at present.
The Presidential hopeful has two sons and two daughters. One son, Mr Conrad Sangma, is the Leader of the Opposition in the Meghalaya Assembly and a daughter, Ms Agatha Sangma, is the Minister of State for Rural Development. With his leaving the NCP, there is a question mark on the continuation of his children in the party