Even as the UPA and Left parties rallied behind their presidential nominee Pratibha Patil, the Third Front leaders held an inconclusive meeting with the NDA partners to discuss the candidature of incumbent APJ Abdul Kalam on Thursday.

Soon after the 90-minute meeting held at the residence of former prime minister A B Vajpayee, Telugu Desam Party chief and Third Front leader Chandrababu Naidu said the two groupings would meet again on Friday to discuss the issue.

As for the NDA, its leader Jaswant Singh maintained that Vice-President B S Shekhawat was still their candidate but would be happy if Mr Kalam agreed to become the nominee. On Wednesday, the president had informed the Third Front leaders that he was willing to contest if there was certainty of his winning the poll.

The meeting was attended by NDA partners such as the BJP, the Janata Dal (United) and the Akali Dal as well as Third Front leaders such as Mulayam Singh Yadav,  O P Chautala and representatives from the AIADMK and the AGP. Interestingly, the Shiv Sena, a partner of NDA, did not attend the meeting. The Sena is likely to support UPA nominee Patil.

Mr Naidu said the meeting was cordial and all issues were discussed. He said he briefed the meeting over his discussions with parties such as the Left and their refusal to support Mr Kalam.

At the meeting, Mr Vajpayee was understood to have asked the UNPA leaders what they would do if Mr Kalam refused to contest in the light of the strong reaction from the UPA and Left to his possible candidature.

He asked them whether they would be willing to support Mr Shekhawat. To this, Mr Naidu said the UNPA would consult individual partners before arriving at any decision.