Sena to back Seshan in Presidential poll

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has extended his party's support to former chief election commissioner T N Seshan for the Presidential poll.

Thackeray, according to the Sena-owned newspaperSaamna, declared his support for Seshan when the former CEC met him in Bombay on Sunday at the government Sahyadri guesthouse.

Announcing his support, Thackeray said the country was caught in a ''strange quagmire'' and needed a strong President who could rise above caste and religion to tackle its problems, ''Hence there was no better alternative than Seshan'', the newspaper quoted Thackeray as saying.

Seshan, during his meeting with Thackeray, said he felt the country should be freed from corruption, adding that if the Sena chief supported him he would get an opportunity to serve the country as President in the golden jubilee year of Independence, Saamna reported.

The daily quoted Thackeray as extolling Seshan's role as CEC in eradicating corruption from the poll arena and praising the work done by him to remove the ''stinking mire from Delhi". He said Seshan acted firmly, but with discipline and said he was sure the former election commissioner would clear the charge that the President was just a rubber stamp. Using these arguments, he said he was convinced that Seshan was the only appropriate candidate for the highest post.

Asked whether the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Sena's electoral ally in Maharashtra, would also support Seshan, the Shiv Sena chief said he considered the national interest above party and power. "More then the interests of the party, I look to the Presidential election from the broader point of how best the nation will benefit," Saamna quoted him as saying.

The daily further quoted Thackeray as having said that instead of deciding on the candidature for the Presidential post on the basis of caste and religion to enlarge the party's vote bank, he was currently considering how to enhance the nation's dignity and pride. For this, someone like Seshan, who was disciplined and could act firmly, was the need of the hour, Thackeray said.