Is the Congress still wooing Janata Dal (Secular) president H D Deve Gowda? Speculation to this effect gained ground as senior Congress leader M L Fotedar called on the former prime minister here on Friday.
While Mr Gowda was not available for comment, Congress circles dismissed speculation of any possibility of an understanding between the two parties.
However, they did not rule out the possibility of the 10, Janpath loyalist seeking support for UPA presidential candidate Pratibha Patil from Gowda’s JD(S). Mr Fotedar, informed sources said, drove to Mr Gowda’s Safdarjung Lane residence in the morning and was with him for about 20 minutes. Mr Fotedar, too, was unavailable for comments.
The JD(S) with about 47 active MLAs (leaving out the Siddaramaiah camp) and four MPs together account for about 10,000 votes out of the 10.98 lakh votes in the electoral college for the presidential poll.
BJP leader and Karnataka in charge Yashwant Sinha too called on Mr Gowda on Friday but the former finance minister, speaking to Deccan Herald, said no political issues were discussed. 
“It was a personal call from me and nothing to do with politics. It was like renewing old time contact,” Mr Sinha remarked. Asked whether Mr Gowda’s support for NDA-supported candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was sought during the meeting, Mr Sinha replied in the negative.
A few months ago, Mr Gowda created a flutter in political circles by meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi ostensibly over the Cauvery issue.
He later denied that he had ever met her after the fall of the Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka.
As for the presidential poll, the UPA is comfortably placed with even NDA partner Shiv Sena pledging support to its candidate.
Interestingly, Mr Gowda has not revealed his mind yet on the presidential election.
He had issued a statement on Sunday last in which he expressed anguish over the way in which the UPA, NDA and UNPA had conducted themselves over the issue.
He stressed that the president of the world’s largest democracy should not be seen as a “loyal tool” in the hands of any political party. He, though, had good words for both outgoing President A PJ Abdul Kalam and Vice-President Shekhawat.