The meeting of the Congress core group came at a time when the Prime Minister as also Gandhi have held consultations with several allies in the matter.
NEW DELHI: Top Congress leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi, held a meeting on Friday night in the backdrop of parleys over the issue of Presidential candidate.
The meeting of the Congress core group came at a time when the Prime Minister as also Gandhi have held consultations with several allies in the matter.
The CPI(M) has backed the name of Mukherjee for the President's post.
A section in the government believes that it would still take some time to finalise the Presidential nominee as full consultations were yet to be held.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Governor Balram Jakhar, who is believed to be an aspirant for the Raisina Hill, had a meeting with Congress President Gandhi on Friday.
While Jakhar could not be immediately contacted, political circles have it that the Madhya Pradesh Governor is pressing his case as he believes that someone from the farming community should occupy the top post.
Jakhar is camping here and has sought an appointment with the Prime Minister.
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister N D Tiwari is said to be another aspirant for the top post, while Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha G Venkataswamy met Gandhi last week and told her that he was the "right candidate" for the top job as he was a "senior-most party leader and freedom fighter".
The 79-year-old Dalit leader is an MP from Andhra Pradesh and is claiming that he was set to become the President ten years back, but the post went to K R Narayanan due to "a fraud played by some Congress leaders".
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