New Delhi: He has denied it and most political parties are conspicuously quiet about it, but it appears that Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is emerging as the frontrunner for the post of next President of India.
Sources in the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) have told news agency IANS that the party has no other candidate except Chatterjee in mind for pitching up for the job of the country’s first citizen.
For days ago while speaking with reporters, Chatterjee had said his candidature was only a matter of media speculation and nothing else.
But CPI-M for now seems prepared for as much as returning the post of Lok Sabha Speaker to Congress and also have a Congress candidate as Vice President. However, this is only possible in case a consensus on Chatterjee emerges.
Chatterjee was miffed with comments made in the media about the Presidential race. While he made clear that he had “not discussed it (presidential elections) with anybody nor has anybody discussed it with me”, his OSD S Prasanna Kumar also had to issue a statement.
"It is very unfortunate that only the very last portion of the observation of the Speaker has been picked up by a section of the electronic media to give a somewhat misleading impression to the people that the Speaker is endeavouring to be the candidate for the post of the President," he was quoted as saying.
As Uttar Pradesh assembly elections draw to an end, UPA and Left allies are deliberating on a July date for the presidential elections.
Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh also told journalists on Saturday that his party would support a presidential candidate set up by the Left parties. He, however, clarified this support is only for a Left candidate and not a Left-supported Congress candidate.
CPI general secretary AB Bardhan was more categorical and told CNN-IBN in Devil’s Advocate that he would welcome Chatterjee as President, but would not propose his name for the post.
He too clarified that the Left Front would not support President APJ Abdul Kalam for a second term or Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat for the post of President.
The CPI-M's believes BJP may not have the numbers to win the presidential elections, even with NDA as an ally.
IANS reports a CPI-M leader as saying that party is keen on taking on the BJP in a close contest as a test. "It will be a very good opportunity to see who stands where,” the agency quotes the leader as saying.
(With agency inputs)
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