JD-U asks UPA to clear its stand on Prez candidate

Patna/New Delhi, June 14 (ANI): Expressing surprise over the infighting that is taking place within the UPA over the presidential candidate, Janata Dal-United ( JD-U) leader Shivanand Tiwari on Thursday asked the ruling Congress Party to make its stand clear on the issue.

"There is utter chaos in the UPA Government and we are merely spectators to this drama that is taking place. Firstly, the UPA should decide on the candidate. It is astonishing the way infighting is taking place within the UPA," Tiwari told media in Patna.

"How are they (Congress) managing the government? Sonia Gandhi and her mangers should have spoken to their ally like Mulayam Singh Yadav before and they should consulted them and found a solution," he added.

The Congress Party is holding parleys with its senior leaders in the wake of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Samajwadi Party (SP) stunning the ruling party by proposing three names for the presidential candidate.

The Congress Party earlier in the day ruled out sparing Prime Minister Dr. 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.

He further said that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid Ansari were the party's preferred choices and would continue to remain so. ashing out at TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, Dwivedi said: "Names come up during discussions and there is sanctity to close door talks. Mamata should not have announced the details of the meeting in public."

Congress President Sonia Gandhi held parleys with senior party leaders Pranab Mukherjee, A K Antony and P Chidambaram at her residence here.

Banerjee and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had earlier 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.

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.

A fresh round of consultations on the issue of selection of a presidential nominee is taking place in the UPA, after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) authorised Gandhi to decide on the candidates for the coming presidential and vice presidential elections.

Gandhi has so far held discussions with DMK chief Karunanidhi, NCP leader Sharad Pawar and RLD chief Ajit Singh on the presidential candidate.

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil's term ends on July 24. (ANI)