BJP discusses Prez candidates floated by Mamata, Mulayam

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday discussed the candidature of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, A P J Abdul Kalam and Somnath Chatterjee, floated by the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party.

The party has decided to adopt a wait-and-watch approach till Congress finalises its name for the post.

The party's core group, which met under the chairmanship of BJP president Nitin Gadkari, discussed the development after SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee sought the support of various parties for their three candidates.

While BJP leaders L K Advani, M Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley were not present at today's core group meeting, among those present were Sushma Swaraj, Murli Manohar Joshi, Rajnath Singh and Ram Lal. Advani and Naidu were in Chennai, party leaders said.

"We discussed the Presidential poll at the BJP core group meeting. We analysed whatever discussions for the Presidential poll were held between UPA allies today. We discussed and thought over the names floated by both the parties supporting UPA. The Congress should come out with its view first. We will discuss this in NDA meeting and then come out with our view," Ananth Kumar, convener of the BJP Parliamentary party, told reporters after the meeting.

Kalam, who was the National Democratic Alliance's choice for the President's post in 2002, was also favoured initially by the BJP for the top post this time around. The NDA had also pushed for his candidature for a second term in 2007.

Kalam, however, has maintained he would agree to enter the fray only if there is consensus on his name.

Party leader Ananth Kumar did not respond to queries on BJP's reaction to Kalam's name floated by UPA allies.

Sushma Swaraj had recently said that Kalam has the stature to become President, more so if a non-political candidate is to be chosen for the top post.