Presidential candidate: Karat meets Mulayam

Communist Party of India - Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat on Friday met Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and the two leaders are understood have discussed the pros and cons of probable candidates for the upcoming Presidential election.

Yadav, who has been holding parleys with different parties on the issue, had on Thursday met Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and both are believed to have decided to adopt a common approach on the crucial election.

Karat and Yadav met for nearly half-an-hour on Thursday morning at the latter's residence, sources said. No details were available regarding their deliberations.

The meeting came ahead of discussions amongst the four Left parties.

The newly-elected politburo of the CPI-M is also meeting on Sunday to take a decision on the matter.

Karat had said on Thursday that the CPI-M would hold consultations with other parties on the Presidential poll before taking any decision.

His party colleague Sitaram Yechury has said that the Presidential election should be held on the basis of a consensus. He has also said the initiative should be taken by the Congress to evolve a consensus on the issue.