Feverish activities marked lobbying by the UPA camp on the Presidential election with Sonia Gandhi meeting UP Chief Minister Mayawati.
NEW DELHI: Feverish activities marked lobbying by the UPA camp on Monday on the Presidential election with Congress President Sonia Gandhi meeting UP Chief Minister Mayawati to seal BSP support for her party candidate after discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other top leaders.
Significantly, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who has been talking to UPA allies on the election, was not present at the Prime Minister's residence when Gandhi met Manmohan Singh in the presence of senior leaders AK Antony and Ahmed Patel.
Antony and Patel met Mukherjee after the meeting at the Prime Minister's residence. Mukherjee's absence fuelled speculation whether he was one of the candidates being considered for the high office even as media reports had projected Home Minister Shivraj Patil as the frontrunner.
Shortly after returning from a brief trip abroad, Gandhi plunged into discussions and went to RJD leader Lalu Prasad's house where celebrations were on to mark his 60th birthday.
The Prime Minister was also present there but declined to speak anything on the presidential election to journalists.
From Lalu's residence, she drove to Mayawati's house for a crucial meeting with the BSP chief whose party with nearly 60,000 votes could tilt the balance in favour of Congress.
There was no official word on any of these discussions, but it is understood that Gandhi sought and secured BSP's support for the party nominee given the present equations between the two parties.
The Left parties are meeting here on Tuesday to decide their stand on the Presidential issue. The meeting assumes significance in view of reports that the Left has reservations about Patil's candidature against the backdrop of the possibility of Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat becoming an independent opposition candidate.
As Gandhi plunged into the discussions, Congress backed up the Prime Minister's statement seeking a consensus on the UPA nominee saying it was open to the idea of consultations with the opposition on the issue.
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