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BJP backs Sangma as presidential candidate

Our Correspondent,NewDeihi
After much dithering, India's main opposition BJP yesterday decided to support former parliament speaker P A Sangma, setting the stage for a contest in the July 19 Presidential election against ruling UPA nominee and Finance Minister Pranab
date with CPI(M) and Forward Bloc deciding to support UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee while CPI and RSP opting to abstain from the voting. The four parties held a joint meeting but could not arrive at a consensus.
Swaraj's party colleague Arun Jaitley also said the party
to convince West Bengal Chief
Mukherjee who looks set emerge victorious.
Announcing the decision, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj told the media that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's request to it for supporting Mukherjee came “too late” after a "unilateral" decision to field the Finance Minister was taken.
Congress, on June 15, declared
Mukherjee as the candidate of the ruling coalition UPA it leads.
However, BJP's bid to make a fight of the presidential contest suffered yet another major setback when its ally Janata Dal (United) today broke ranks and announced it would back Mukherjee. Three days ago, BJP's oldest ideological ally Shiv Sena also announced its support for 76-year-old Mukherjee.
Meanwhile, Left parties were today divided on the Presidential election candi-
Minister Mamata Banerjee to vote for Sangma.
Though Mamata Banerjee's party Trinamool Congress is a member of UPA, she has been estranged from the coalition over her refusal to support Mukherjee and proposed the name of A P J Abdul Kalam's candidature for the election. Kalam, however,
optedoutofthe race.
"The logical pursuit of what Mamata Banerjee has started should be to support the opposition candidate," said Jaitley.
Sangma, who on Wednesday resigned from Nationalist Congress Party which has decided to support Mukherjee as it is a constituent of UPA, said he had spoken to Mamata Bannerjee.
Even if THnamool Congress supports 62-year-old Sangma, the arithmetic is clearly weighed against him.