Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday threw broad hints at supporting Pranab Mukherjee for President.
At a press conference, Mr. Naidu said as a party wedded to secularism it could not support a candidate of the BJP- led NDA. Attempts by some political parties to the former President, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, a nominee have fallen through as he had politely refused to contest. The former Lok Sabha Speaker, P. A. Sangma, was keen to enter the fray and had been seeking support.
On the other hand, Mr. Mukherjee was emerging as the frontrunner, though he was the choice of the Congress. Political rivals at the State level like the Samajwadi Party and the BSP have decided to support his candidature.
The TDP was studying these developments and felt it had a limited role and hardly a choice. It had played an active role during the days of the third front. Now it was in a dilemma as it could not even abstain from the Presidential election. “We will weigh the pros and cons and take a decision soon,” Mr. Naidu said.
