Karuna-Left meet inconclusive

New Delhi: Hectic political lobbying and consultations have begun in the UPA camp on Thursday as the race for Rashtrapati Bhavan enters the final lap.

Having made BSP supremo Mayawati come around and wooing Left allies with all that it has, Congress is now banking on DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to take a supportive stand on the nomination issue.

The DMK chief met Left leaders on Thursday morning to sort out the puzzle, but the meeting remained inconclusive. According to Left sources, the two sides will meet again at 1700 hours on Thursday for further talks.

The sources said no specific names were put forward from either side in the meeting although two or three names were discussed.

"The very fact we are meeting again in the evening shows we have not decided on any names," CPI leader A B Bardhan told reporters after the meeting.

Asked whether Congress have suggested three names for the candidature, Bardhan said they hadn't been told.

The matter is poised so delicately that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has deferred a crucial Cabinet meeting slated for Thursday so that the Left parties and the Congress leadership can hold parleys with the octogenarian Tamil politician.

Karunanidhi will have a second round of talks with the Prime Minister and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi around noon at the Prime Minister's 7, RCR residence.

The Left leaders are also scheduled to meet the PM and Sonia in a bid to evolve a consensus on the issue.

On Wednesday Karunanidhi flew in to the Capital from Chennai and drove straight to the PM's residence and held talks with Dr Singh and Mrs Sonia Gandhi.

"There should be a strong presidential candidate from the UPA camp. We discussed two or three names that would be strong contenders in the meeting," he said.

It’s two top leaders from Tamil Nadu who now hold the key to Rashtrapati Bhawan. On one hand, Karunanidhi is highly likely to support Congress candidate, at the same time the DMK doesn't want to get involved in case there is a Congress-Left face off.

Then there is AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, who now claims that all options are open before her and she might not be averse to supporting an independent candidate.