Ready for second term if there is certainty, says Kalam

NEW DELHI: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Wednesday indicated his willingness to enter the Presidential contest if the outcome ensured a second term for him. He was willing to wait for a "few more days" for this "certainty" to emerge.

Soon after leaders of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) met him on Wednesday afternoon, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said: "The President observed [to the leaders] that as there is overwhelming love and affection of the people from all sections of society and from all parts of the country, I can accept a second term of Presidency provided there is certainty about this." Mr. Kalam was also "willing to wait for a few more days for this certainty."

Rashtrapati Bhavan sources also sought to differentiate between the word "certainty" used by the President on Wednesday and the word "consensus" he mentioned when a delegation led by the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpay ee met him over a month ago.

This point was stressed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), besides the UNPA. It is being interpreted to mean that if an adequate number of parties were willing to support him for a second term, even in the absence of consensus, he could contest.

Taking the cue from what the President told them, UNPA leaders - N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh of the Samajwadi Party, three representatives of the AIADMK, Om Prakash Chautala of the Indian Na tional Lok Dal, MDMK leader Vaiko, Brindaban Goswami of the Asom Gana Parishad - began working on the job at hand.

They met Mr. Vajpayee - BJP president Rajnath Singh and Leaders of the Opposition L.K. Advani and Jaswant Singh were also present. The BJP leaders told them that they would consult their NDA allies before saying anything.

Even as the UNPA leaders sought an appointment with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, she made it clear to them over telephone that the UPA had chosen a candidate (Pratibha Patil) and it was not necessary for them to meet her on the issue.

The UNPA also let it be known that its leaders were meeting CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan even as the Left, separately, made its position clear: it never supported Mr. Kalam for the first term and would not support him for a second.

The Hindu