New front's crucial conclave today

CHENNAI: A crucial conclave of eight regional parties, who had floated a new front opposing the Congress and BJP, here on Monday would decide on their joint strategy on Presidential elections.

The meeting, hosted by AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa, will be attended by leaders of Telugu Desam Party, Samajwadi Party, Indian National Lok Dal, Asom Gana Parishad, Jharkand Vikas Morcha, Kerala Congress (J) and MDMK, besides AIADMK.

SP leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh, TDP's Chandrababu Naidu and INLD's Om Prakash Chautala were among those who arrived in the city on Sunday night.

The front has three choices -- put up its own nominee or support the Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat or abstainfrom the poll, AIADMK sources said.

In case the front decides to put up a candidate, the names of National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, former Tamil Nadu governor Jutice Fatima Beevi and veteran parlimentarian Era Sezhiyan were doing rounds.

The leaders of the eight regional parties had their first meeting in Hyderbad on June 6 where they formally launched the front. The parties account for 1,05,225 votes of the around 10 lakh votes in the electoral college for presidential poll.

Though today's main agenda was to decide the strategy for Presidential poll, the meeting would also give a final shape to the new front of non-Congress and non-BJP parties on the basis of an alternative economic policy, the sources said.

The conclave would begin at the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa later in the day.