Trinamool now bats for Kalam

Trinamool Congress, a key ally of the UPA, on Thursday firmly batted for making former President A P J Abdul Kalam the President a second time, making a contest appear inevitable if lead partner  Congress decided to field either Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee or Vice President M Hamid Ansari.

“Kalam is our and Mulayam Singh Yadav’s number one candidate. Don’t say he is BJP candidate, or Navin Patnaik’s or Mamata’s choice. Kalam is our candidate and the best,” TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said after meeting Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for the third time in 48 hours, here.

Reiterating that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also a “good choice” proposed jointly by SP and her party, she said, “I would have been happy if his candidature was considered (by the Congress). But what can I do if his party does not want him to enter the fray?” she said. She said Kalam is a good person and eminently qualified for the top post. “Who can oppose Kalam? Even in a direct election, people would support him. We want a consensus on Kalam’s candidature,” she added.

Asked if Congress did not agree to back Kalam, Banerjee said her party would stand by its decision.