New Delhi, May 17: With BJD and AIADMK indicating their preference for P A Sangma as Presidential candidate, the NCP leader today thanked them saying they have been responsive to the aspirations of tribals and appealed to other parties to support a candidate from the community.
Sangma, however, said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is considered a front-runner for the ruling UPA's candidature, is “very highly qualified” for the post but said there are other qualified people and insisted that teh President this time should be from among tribals.
“I am very happy about it and I am extremely grateful to both the leaders (BJD's Naveen Patnaik and AIADMK's Jayalalithaa). They have been very responsive to our (tribals) aspirations. So on behalf of tribals in India, who are more than 100 million, I would convey my sincere thanks to them,” he said.
He also appealed to other parties to follow suit and support the tribal cause.
When asked whether he will support any other tribal candidate, Sangma said he was not the only tribal who could be the President.
“Anyone tribal. It can be (Tribal Affairs Minister) Kishore Chandra Deo, Arvind Netam (Congress), Kariya Munda (BJP)...it should be a tribal this time.” In this case, he said, he was not representing NCP but the whole tribals.
“In our group there are MPs and MLAs and former MPs from all parties.... I have spoken to Kishore Chandra Deo and he has said we should fight for our cause, why not?
So we are all one. There is nothing like A, B or C political party,” he said.
“We belong to different political parties but we belong to tribal community. We are representing tribal community,” he said.
Meanwhile, NCP today virtually disowned attempts by its party leader P A Sangma to enter the Presidential race even as BJD and AIADMK announced their support to his candidature.
“I am not aware of any such development. Sangma has not spoken to us. We have had no discussions. We feel that with such a limited strength, we cannot aspire for such a major post,” party chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told PTI.
Pawar's party is a key ally of the Congress-led UPA at the Centre since May 2004 and the two parties are also sharing power in Maharashtra since 1999. He had sometime back met Congress President Sonia Gandhi who has been holding consultations with UPA constituents and allies over the Presidential election.
The NCP chief's reaction came close on the heels of Odisha Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik backing the 65-year-old tribal leader from the north eastern state of Meghalaya for the post of President of India.
“I think Mr Sangma ought to be candidate for the highest post for the Rashtrapati Bhavan,” Patnaik said describing Sangma as a prominent tribal leader who had the experience of occupying the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. In Chennai, AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said her party will support Sangma for President's post.
Jayalalithaa today joined hands with her Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik in backing former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma for the President's post.
After “due consideration” and consultations within the AIADMK as well as Patnaik, the AIADMK has decided to support the candidature of Sangma for the highest office, she said in a statement here.
Recalling Sangma's May 15 meeting with her, she said he “not only belongs to a tribal community but is also eminently qualified to be the President of our great nation.” “During the past 60 years of the republic of India, while eminent personalities belonging to various communities and diverse walks of life have graced the
office of the Rashtrapati, no one belonging to a tribal community has had the opportunity so far,” she said.
As such, the AIADMK “takes pride” in supporting the candidature of Sangma, an NCP leader, she added.
Her statement comes hours after Patnaik announced in Bhubaneswar BJD's support to the 65-year-old tribal leader from the northeastern state of Meghalaya for the post. Jayalalithaa and Patnaik are the two leaders from the regional parties to have come out with their choice for the Presidency even as Congress and BJP are keeping their cards close to their chest.
Incumbent Pratibha Patil's tenure ends on July 25 and the race for Raisina Hill is expected to pick up pace with the regional leaders officially proposing their candidate.
