Left, Shiv Sena think alike on 2nd term for Kalam

The Left and the Shiv Sena have virtually turned out to be strange bedfellows when it comes to second term for President A P J Abdul Kalam.

Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat has set the ball rolling on the issue of the next President by almost coming out in the open for a second term for the incumbent.

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackarey is piqued over the issue of Kalam's handling of hanging of Afzal Guru, convicted in the Parliament attack case. He feels Kalam is delaying the decision on Afzal's mercy petition.       

Thakarey's stand is at variance with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, which has given more than hints that Kalam remains its first choice for the top office.

The Left has never been comfortable with Kalam and had even put up the late Captain Lakshmi Sehgal when the NDA sought to make him a consensus candidate in 2002 and the Congress had no option left but to support him.

Karat's opposition to second term for Kalam has come at a time when the Samajwadi Party has pitched in for Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee for the top job.

Chatterjee is the first Left leader to become a presiding officer in Parliament and will also have the distinction of becoming the first Marxist President if he succeeds in reaching the Raisina Hill.

Incidently, no leader from West Bengal has so far been either the President or Vice-President. Same is the case with Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Interestingly, the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led Party was in the forefront of propelling Kalam to the highest office in 2002 as the 'Missile man' emerged as the dark horse almost at the last minute.

In fact, Yadav then backed Kalam to the hilt that it led to the break-up of the People's Front he had floated along with the Left parties to keep both the BJP and Congress at bay.

The BJP-led NDA, especially the saffron party, was then toying with the idea of putting up then Maharashtra Governor P C Alexander and had for some time even thought of the then Vice President Krishan Kant for the top post.

Sena leaders say that Thackarey has opposed a second term for Kalam as he is upset over the President keeping the Afzal issue hanging for long.

Shiv Sena lawmaker Sanjay Raut, who is also editor of the party newspaper Samana says that Thackarey feels that the delay was due to "pressure"from the Congress-led coalition at the Centre.

Besides, he said there have been no consultations in the NDA so far on the issue and none of the leaders has so far talked to Thackarey in the matter to understand his views.

Raut says Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat who had been among the top leaders of the saffron party could be a better candidate than Kalam as what the country needed is a 'seasoned politician at the helm of affairs and not a scientist.'

It is also argued by him that Shekhawat has 'friends' in all political parties, including the United Progressive Alliance.

Top NDA leaders, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani, Rajnath Singh, Jaswant Singh and George Fernandes, had met Kalam last year during which they expressed readiness to back him for a second term if he was willing to become a candidate.