Much Left to worry in prez polls

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Rajdeep Sardesai

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Keywords: Sonia Gandhi, Mayawaiti

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s support came after a quiet and personal dinner that she had with the Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday night .

"The name has been decided and will be announced by Sonia Gandhi at an appropriate stage. I support them," said Mayawati.

Now, the only hurdle left in Home Minister Shivraj Patil's ascension to Raisina hill are the Left parties.

They are upset at not being consulted before Mayawati and are now opposing not just Shivraj Patil, but also the man who was being considered as a second option, Karan Singh.

Is this just posturing or are these reservations more serious? The Left parties are also miffed with the fact that Pranab Mukherjee who was initially being considered for the president's post has now been left out. So now, they want to strike a hard bargain.

On the other side of the political divide, Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is complicating things further for the UPA.

CNN-IBN has learnt Shekhawat will now contest the presidential elections as an independent candidate, which may enable him to get votes from non-NDA parties like the NCP or the SP.

Since Shekhawat is considered to be a political heavyweight, with friends across the political fraternity, it is another factor which is worrying the Left.