Ignoring advice from his party, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader P.A. Sangma on Friday said he continues to be in the fray for the Presidential election as a tribal candidate.
“I am in the fray as a tribal candidate, not as a NCP candidate,” Mr. Sangma, a former Lok Sabha speaker, told reporters here.
Mr. Sangma pointed out that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had proposed his name as a candidate for the Presidential poll.
Asked about A.P.J. Kalam’s candidature, the NCP leader said that he felt that the former President will not enter the fray.
“Kalam has been President once. He will not take such a risk,” Mr. Sangma said.
NCP General Secretary D.P. Tripathi on Monday met Mr. Sangma and told him that the party will support the UPA candidate in the Presidential poll, suggesting that he opt out of the race.
