Advani meets Jayalalithaa, says NDA meeting tomorrow to discuss Prez poll

Chennai/New Delhi, June 14 (ANI): Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani, who met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa here today, said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will meet tomorrow to discuss their candidates for the presidential elections.

"We discussed the presidential elections. No decision by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) till the Congress announces its candidate," Advani told media after the meeting.

Advani said the BJP was still discussing names.

BJP leader Ananth Kumar had earlier said the NDA would decide on the presidential candidate after the Congress party came out with a name.

"Mulayam Singh and Mamata Banerjee belonging to the Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress respectively suggested three names for the presidential post. After thinking on the suggested names, the BJP has come to the conclusion that since the names have been suggested by the partners of the ruling government, the Congress party should put forward their candidate for the coveted post, and then, the NDA will respond to it," Kumar told media here last evening.

Banerjee and Mulayam had on Wednesday evening announced the names of Manmohan Singh, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Somnath Chatterjee as their preferred choices for the July 19 presidential poll.

Congress Party, however, ruled out sparing Manmohan Singh for the presidential race, as it rejected the three names proposed by the two allies, sending signals that it was not in a mood to bow before them.

"Manmohan Singh will stay prime minister till 2014. We cannot afford to spare Manmohan Singh," said Congress spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi.

Dwivedi also said that the names of former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and former President APJ Abdul Kalam as proposed by Mamata and Mulayam were not acceptable to the Congress.

The latest developments appear to be a major blow for the ruling Congress Party, as both Mamata and Mulayam have rejected the names of Mukherjee and Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari.

Mamata, who met Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, remains non-committal over the UPA chairperson's suggestion, saying she would revert on the issue after discussing it with her Trinamool Congress colleagues.

Trinamool Congress, with 19 members in the Lok Sabha, is the largest constituent of UPA after the Congress. On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party, which has 22 members in the Lok Sabha, is an outside supporter of the ruling alliance. (ANI)