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Prez race: PM keen on UPA runner
Published on Sun, Jun 10, 2007 at 00:07 in 
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New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will now step in to get a consensus for the UPA candidate for the Presidential race. And Manmohan Singh isn’t just going to talk to the big parties but also the smaller parties and independents.
The Prime Minister is not leaving anything to chance. To ensure the victory of the UPA presidential nominee, he will soon reach out to non-UPA secular parties like the JD-S, TDP and the NC.
The UPA government is planning to contact smaller state level parties and the Independents who together have almost 40,000 floating votes.
Congress's ace troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee has held his first round of talks with the allies. Shivraj Patil is the party's frontrunner and being backed by UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi herself. Mukhejree was able to convince most but not all.
The major hurdle is the Left. The four-party block led by CPI-M had not been being budging from its earlier stand that Mukherjee is the best contender and not just anybody fits the bill.
CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan says, “It’s not as if somebody can come and tell us that look this is the man whom we are put on. Now all that you are required is to come and vote. It’s not as easy as that.”
Shivraj Patil's problem is his unimpressive track record as the home minister, which even sections of the NCP said was insipid. The NCP has since changed its mind with senior leader Praful Patel saying, “We will vote for whoever UPA decides.”
A final decision will be taken next week when the Left leaders have a chance to talk the matter over with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister.
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