Former Lok Sabha Speaker and Nationalist Congress Party leader P A Sangma today said he remained a candidate for the post of the president and was in touch with all political parties to garner support.

"I am in the race, that is important. Since I am in the race, I do not like to comment on other candidates," he said and added there was nothing wrong in names being suggested for the post of President.

"We all know that my candidature has been sponsored by two most powerful leaders of the country, honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaji and also honourable Naveen Patnaikji who is the Chief minister of Odisha," he told Times Now.

Sangma also said he had been given to understand that NDA would discuss his candidature at its meeting tomorrow.

The ruling Buju Janata Dal, which had proposed P A Sangma as presidential candidate, today said it would impose whip on its MLAs for next month's elections for the top post while Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik maintained silence over the issue.

   
BJD's chief whip in Odisha Legislative Assembly Rabi Narayan Pani said "We will certainly impose whip on our MLAs if there is a voting in the Presidential elections."

  
Patnaik was the first to moot the name of Sangma for the presidential candidate. Sangma later got support from AIADMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
    

While Patnaik kept silent on the issue after name of Pranab Mukherjee came to the fore, BJD leaders seemed to have adopted a cautious approach on the matter.

   
Though reporters had been trying to get Patnaik's views on the important topic, the Chief Minister was not ready to respond.

Rejecting allegations of corruption levelled by Team Anna, Law Minister Salman Khurshid has hit back saying it is difficult to concede them the "monopoly of patriotism and honesty" and advised Anna Hazare that there was still time to bring his movement to the "legitimate" path.

 
In a stinging letter to Anna Hazare, Khurshid, who is among the 13 ministers against whom Team Ann had sought a probe, said there were serious doubts about the activist's colleagues' faith in judicial system and said government works by rule of law and not by "whims of men no matter how well intentioned" it is.

Alleging that his team has allowed their passions to overwhelm their rational abilities, he said it was "difficult to concede to them a monopoly of patriotism and honesty particularly since there are many questions about their personal and public conduct that remain unanswered."

Politicians from Goa who have entered the mining business often display little interest in working responsibly or even obeying the law, an international human rights watch organisation has said in its report.

New York-based Human Rights Watch report "Out of Control: Mining, Regulatory Failure and Human Rights in India," has said that the act of politicians has tarred the reputation of the entire industry.

    
"Politicians have entered into mining business and are spoiling the names of established mining companies. Their action tar the reputation of the whole industry," the report said quoting officials from two mining firms, who spoke to HRW on the condition of anonymity.

 
The officials told HRW that companies often selected contractors with political ties who often display little interest in working responsibly or even obeying the law.

"Sometimes you proactively go to a politician and say, 'look, let's do this together,' so you get it done faster," a company official was quoted saying in the report.

In an apparent backtrack, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday evening stated that he has never proposed the name of A P J Abdul Kalam for the presidential post.

Hours earlier, Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee said in New Delhi that her party will back Kalam.

Britain's Supreme Court today dismissed a final bid by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to reopen his appeal against extradition to Sweden over alleged sex crimes.

 
The required period for extradition "shall not commence until the 14th day after today", the court said.

 
Two weeks ago the court rejected 40-year-old Assange's argument that a European arrest warrant for extradition was invalid, the BBC reported.

Mamata Banerjee's meeting with Mulayam Singh Yadav ends. All she says while leaving his residence is that Kalam will be her candidate. Not a word from Mulayam as yet, neither was there a joint press conference.

Stay with us. .

At 11 am tomorrow, the Congress will formally discuss names of its presidential candidates. So far, the Congress has only rejected the names of the candidates the Trinamool and Samajwadi Party threw up yesterday without actually giving out their choices.

After the meeting with Sonia Gandhi yesterday, Mamata Banerjee had named Pranab Mukheree and Hamid Ansari as the Congress candidates. But Congress spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi clarified today that no names have been finalised as yet and the final decision would be taken at tomorrow's UPA meet. Mamata Banerjee will be skipping that meet since the "UPA has already decided on names."

CNN IBN reveals that the Congress will add one other name -- Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar -- to its list.

So right now, Mamata Banerjee is meeting Mulayam Singh Yadav at his residence. This is the third meeting between the two in the last 48 hours. At the press conference outside her Delhi residence, Mamata said her pact with Mulayam remained strong. She said Mulayam had told her today that his choices of candidates -- PM, Somnath, Kalam -- remain unchanged.

Mamata said she if someone threatens her, she would tackle it. "We have not broken traditions or decorum. I and Mulayam Singh Yadav suggested two names. Please remember this is a Presidential poll and not a municipal election. Both are different in stature.

"We want a person who is best suited to the position. Who is capable. We gave three names because there was no consensus. One of those names will be the face of India. Had there been a direct election all of India would have supported APJ Abdul Kalam. We gave a clarion call that all political parties should support Kalam.

"Kalam was not a NDA candidate. The NDA endorsed him later. I suggested the name first," said Mamata.  

Yesterday, while naming their three presidential candidates Mamata Banerjee had said there was no preference. She would be happy if any of the three -- APJ Kalam, Manmohan Singh or Somnath Chatterjee made it as president.

Today, in a complete U-turn, she said Kalam was her first choice, while Somnath and the PM remained 'top' choices.

Mamata added that her alliance with Mulayam Singh Yadav remained strong, and she would meet before him before leaving for Delhi. In fact, the TMC chief has just now left for a meeting with the SP chief.

Just as that press conference ended, the Congress Core Committee meeting drew to a close as well.

Mamata Banerjee's press conference begins. Hitting out at the Congress, Mamata says she does not believe in threatening political parties. "We will withdraw from the alliance if the Congress wants us to, and right now, the ball is with them," she said outside her residence in Delhi.

Speaking on her nominees -- APJ Kalam, PM Manmohan Singh and Somnath Chatterjee, she said, "We will stick to our nominees. We are not afraid of threats. Kalam is our number one candidate.

"He was never a BJP candidate, he was our candidate. Kalam is a good candidate, but we would be happy if the PM or Somnath Chatterjee are chosen. We had suggested the name of Gopal Gandhi as well.

"But we believe that Kalam is the best candidate for the country. We asked for a consensus candidate which is why we raised three names." 

Congress spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi after slamming Mamata Banerjee's 'lack of dignity' for revealing the names of the Congress candidates, now says the Trinamool is still a part of the UPA alliance.

This comes after Mamata Banerjee's statement that if she is unwanted in the alliance, Sonia Gandhi has to tell her to go. The Trinamool will not leave the coalition without being asked to go.

Other meetings scheduled for today...

-- Mamata to meet Mulayam

-- Sonia to meet Mulayam (not necessarily in this order).

Right now the Congress Core Committee meeting is on.

Ram Gopal Yadav, General Secretary of the Samajwadi Party says his party will not indulge in politics of give and take. "The Congress consults parties who have only two or three MPs but ignores biggers parties like us. However, we are still open to talks with the Congress," he said.

"There is always scope for discussion on the matter. I know there was no communication from the Congress (on the presidential candidate) but if they want to talk there is no objection to talks," he said.

The Congress Core Group meeting is on at the PM's residence at 7 Racecourse Road.

The CPI meanwhile says it favoured a Dalit woman as the next President, but did not spell out any name for the top Constitutional post. It may be recalled that Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, a Dalit, has also been nominated.

Top CPI leader AB Bardhan said neither the Congress nor the UPA have spoken with the Left parties or come out with any name for the Presidential elections. "Mahatma Gandhi has said one good thing... among many other good things that a Dalit woman should be made President," he told reporters.

 
However, Bardhan said, he did not mean Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar when he talked about a Dalit woman as the next president. "Sorry. I am not taking any names," he said. 

Asked on whether the Left parties would support Pranab Mukherjee, Bardhan said, "I cannot answer to your questions which are full of ifs." To a question whether the Left can afford not to support Mukherjee, the former CPI general secretary said he should not be asked such questions on whether somebody is acceptable or not. "We will wait and watch. Left parties are meeting on June 21 to firm up our strategy," he said.

Pictured: Meira Kumar, a Dalit, is one of the names doing the rounds.

Derek O'Brien '@quizderek Kolkata is hot...but Delhi is hotting up even more...if you get the drift :)

He is the TMC spokesperson and MP who famously said he would not sit next to any Left front leader in Parliament after Mamata's dictat that her party would not socialise with the Left.

Meanwhile, in her home state, the West Bengal Congress today said it would discuss pulling out of the TMC-led government in the state after Mamata Banerjee's rejection of Pranab Mukherjee as one of UPA's possible presidential candidates.

"I don't find any reason to remain in the ministry. But my decision is not final. We will discuss among ourselves at the state-level and seek concurrence of the high command," PCC President Pradip Bhattacharya said. 

"It is difficult for our party to maintain any political relationship with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, a key ally of the UPA government at the Centre," he said. Congress is a also a partner of Trinamool Congress-led
government in the state.  

"She has unnecessarily disheartened Congress workers and the people of the state by not citing the name of Pranab Mukherjee. She behaved unnaturally and felt that her four per cent votes (in the collegium of the presidential election)
will control the country, which is shameful," he said.

Bhattacharya said Mamata had forgotten how her party's strength had increased in the state and at the Centre with the help of Congress. "Time will come when she will realise her actual strength," he said. He said PCC would launch a political fight against Trinamool Congress shortly.

Mamata Banerjee tells NDTV that she does not want early polls but "this high-handedness cannot continue. There is no question of going back on Kalam."

She also says she did not take names of the candidates proposed by her party and the SP at the joint press conference last evening -- it was Mulayam Singh who did.

She said she would leave for Kolkata tomorrow, extending her stay by one day.

After the meeting with Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said he had assured the UPA chief of his support, saying that the Congress candidate would be the NCP's candidate.

He said he may not be able to attend the Congress CMs meeting tomorrow.

Just as Sharad Pawar's meet with Sonia Gandhi gets done, the Congress president and UPA chief leaves to meet the prime minister at 7, Racecourse Road. This comes just ahead of the Congress Core Group meeting at 5.30 pm.

The Congress today strongly backed the Dr Manmohan Singh saying he would remain the prime minister till 2014, which is when the Lok Sabha elections are due.

CPI(M) Politburo member and the Left Front chairman Biman Bose tells PTI that, "Left parties are ready. As soon as they will declare the name of the candidate (for the presidential poll), the four parties (CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward Bloc) will hold a meeting and decide their stand."

Early this morning, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee whose name has been reported to be Congress' first choice as candidate, telephoned former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Back to the prez polls.

The West Bengal Congress says they are ready to pull out support from the TMC coalition government. A spokesperson for the party said that this kind of behavior will only see the clash between the parties intensify.

Bizarre news: Asiad champ Pinki Pramanik has been detained on charges of rape. A complaint was made that Pramanik is in fact male.

Pramanik won a gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, has been detained by the West Bengal police for torturing and attempting to rape a woman. The victim has claimed that Pinki Pramanik is actually a male. The police have sought a permission for a medical test from the court on Pinki to ascertain her sex.

Mamata Banerjee tells CNN IBN that her intention is not to topple the government. "I am not leaving the government. If the party feels I am unwanted they can ask me to leave," says the Trinamool chief. 

This statement comes amid the buzz in political circles that the Congress was trying to isolate Mamata by trying to drive a wedge between her Trinamool Congress and Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party. 

Banerjee said earlier that there is no reason to participate in the UPA meet tomorrow as decisions have already been made. She said she already knows what's in the UPA's mind, while her stand remains the same --  she will support APJ Kalam and not Pranab Mukherjee. "My stand on Pranab remains the same," said Mamata.

Mamata Banerjee tells CNN IBN that there is no reason to participate in the UPA meet tomorrow as decisions have already been made. Mamata says she already knows what's in the UPA's mind. She says her stand remains the same, she will support APJ Kalam.

In other words, she will not under any circumstances, support Pranab Mukherjee as the nominee. For her the candidate is really, anyone, but Pranab.  

Point to be seen is whether Mulayam will continue to support Mamata after his meeting with Sonia Gandhi this evening after the SP Parliamentary committee meeting. 

Mamata said earlier that she announced the names of the Congress candidates only after a go-ahead from Sonia Gandhi and political secretary Ahmed Patel.

Is Mamata painting herself into a corner?

Just in: Mamata Banerjee will not participate in the UPA meet tomorrow to decide the presidential nominees. The UPA is to meet at 11 am. No surprises there.

The Trinamool Congress has emerged in recent months as the most troublesome ally of the Congress in UPA having shot down a number of key proposals of the government. It has also created embarrassment for the UPA on issues like the Teesta water sharing agreement with Bangladesh as well as on the agreement on the exchange of enclaves with that country.

The Congress has meanwhile blamed Mamata Banerjee for the political mess over the Presidential candidate choice in an apparent bid to drive a wedge between her Trinamool Congress and Mulyam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party. 

"You must have noticed that the initiative to present alternative names came mainly from Banerjee and not not Yadav," a senior Congress leader said on condition of anonymity.   

The Cong leader felt that the SP chief did not intend to oppose UPA nominees but could not say no to Banerjee, who was apparently furious on coming to know about Pranab Mukherjee's candidature for the high post.   

Indications from Congress are that the party is veering round to a view that it cannot allow any troublesome ally to dictate terms on an issue like Presidential poll and that the party has to prepare for any eventuality. "We still consider she is our ally. We will not ask her to leave," the leader said when asked whether  the Congress-Trinamool ties will remain intact after this show-down between them on the issue of Presidential polls. 

The Trinamool Congress Party finally responds to the Congress outrage with Mamata Banerjee for outing the names of its candidates after a closed door meeting with Sonia Gandhi yesterday.

The TMC's Kunal Ghosh tells CNN IBN that Mamata Banerjee was not wrong in revealing the names of the Congress presidential nominees. He said she did not break decorum since she shared the information only after Sonia Gandhi's consent.

-- Read our 15:02 pm post: Mamata behaviour unethical, lacks courtesy: Congress. Also see our 12:55 pm post.

Meanwhile, the UPA meeting on the presidential candidate will take place at 11 am tomorrow, precisely the time the NDA will meet.

And Mamata and Mulayam will meet at 7 pm today.

What the Congress has done this morning is to begin meeting existing allies -- the DMK and old allies -- the Left. Pranab Mukherjee today called up Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Biman Basu -- with whom he shares warm relations -- for their support.

Here's what RJD chief Lalu Prasad said today: "Soniaji will have a final say over the selection of the Presidential candidate irrespective of the names being floated by various quarters, including Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Trinamool Congress head Mamata Banerjee."

"RJD and other UPA partners will support whosoever the Congress president decides to name as its candidate for the President's post", he said and advised Gandhi to finalise the nominee and consult with the alliance partners and opposition parties to evolve a consensus. 

Reactions coming on expected lines from the BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain, who is addressing a press meet right now.

"The Congress allies don't have confidence in the government or faith in the prime minister," says Hussain. He announced that the NDA will meet tomorrow at 11 am to decide on its candidate at LK Advani's residence. "But the Congress has to officially announce its names first," says Hussain.

Ramesh Srivats @rameshsrivats So, Mamata and Mulayam have become friends? Maybe they can form a new party together. They could call it Maamul. 

@simondenyer Manmohan for president? Swapping one powerless role for another perhaps? Figureheads must be hard to come by these days.

@Iamtenalirama Karunanidhi has suggested a name to Sonia for president, says DMK leader TR Balu. I doubt if it will be Dayalu Ammal or Rajathi Ammal.

Congress spokesperson and information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni lashes out at Mamata Banerjee. She says Mamata Banerjee's move in naming the prime minsiter as a presidential candidate is unethical as is her disclosing the names of Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari. "This kind of thing has never happened before and shows such a lack of courtesy that too by mentioning a sitting PM's name," says Soni and added that Mamata had not even bothered to consult the PM.

She said that the Congress was still continuing consultations with its allies.  "It's an ongoing process. Sonia Gandhi has to decide whether it will take two rounds or three rounds. She will take as long as it takes to get a single name to emerge as a political consensus," said Soni.

Incidentally, Mamata Banerjee will not meet the PM despite a request from the PMO.

Mulayam Singh under immense pressure from the Congress to support Pranab Mukherjee and from the TMC to support APJ Kalam. Mamata claims that Mulayam has assured her that the Samajwadi Party's preferred choice is remains Kalam.

A development every minute. Now, Mamata Banerjee is likely to meet Mulayam Singh once again this evening. What is to be seen is whether the meeting will happen before Sonia meets Mulayam or thereafter. The Samajwadi Party Parliamentary Board will meet today after which Mulayam Singh will meet Sonia Gandhi. The SP is still waiting for clear signals from the Congress on its candidates.

The TMC and SP chiefs had meet yesterday after which they embarassed the government by announcing the prime minister as a presidential candidate. Mamata says Mulayam has assured her there is no change in stand.

Pranab Mukherjee shares a warm relationship with Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, but the former Bengal CM has apparently told the finance minister that the Congress has to first make its candidate clear before it gets the Left's support. Mamata Banerjee likely to see red over this as it is the Congress's first overture to the Left.

The Congress and the Left were old allies before it broke the alliance and teamed up with the Trinamool Congress. In Bengal, the relationship between the Congress leadership and the Trinamool leadership has always been strained.

CNN IBN reports says that Pranab Mukherjee has called former West Bengal  CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya for the Left's support.

The Shiromani Akali Dal will support APJ Kalam for president. The SAD which is an ally of the BJP announced its vote for Kalam just as LK Advani announced that the NDA would meet tomorrow to decide on their candidates.

BJP senior leader LK Advani who met AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa in Chennai today said they had not reached a consensus on the presidential candidate even though many names were brought up. The BJP would wait for the UPA to announce its candidates and the NDA will meet tomorrow to discuss the issue.

Advani added that the UPA and Congress were unable to arrive at a consensus on the candidate and said there was a paralysis in decision-making in the UPA.

AIADMK chief and TN chief minister J Jayalalithaa said she had "no special news to give. Whatever has to be said has already been said by Advaniji. It is but natural that when we get together we will discuss the forthcoming presidential elections. The entire exercise has been botched very badly by the Congress. I don't want to speculate on the names doing the rounds, but we will coordinate with Advaniji on the names."   

Speaking to reporters on inflation numbers finance minister Pranab Mukherjee remained noncommittal on the presidential race. "Who will be the Presidential candidate will be decided shortly. The Congress presidential candidate will be known soon," he said.  

Meanwhile, NCP chief Sharad Pawar is to meet Sonia Gandhi at her residence at 5 pm, 30 minutes before the Congress Core Committee meeting.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has said he will consider being a candidate if there is a large consensus on it. He said he was surprised at Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress suggesting his name for the post.

SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and his Trinamool counterpart Mamata Banerjee came with the name of Chatterjee along with that of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former President A P J Abdul Kalam, a move seen as a counter to Congress proposals of Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari.

"One is an ally of UPA (Trinamool) and another is an important party (SP)... My presence in England itself shows that I was not aware of such possibilities," Chatterjee told NDTV in London. 

He said he felt humble though he "never anticipated" it. Asked whether the Left will support his candidature, he said he is not a party man now though he remains a leftist. Chatterjee said it was an honour for him that his name has come and it is a "great job" to be the "first servant of the country... according to me this is the highest honour a citizen can dream of. 

"If the President polls become an acute fight between different political parties, then it will be a sad day for the country," he said.

Meanwhile, presidential hopeful PA Sangma has decided not to contest the election scheduled next month. Instead, the NCP leader articulated his support for former president APJ Abdul Kalam for the post of President. The former Lok Sabha speaker claimed that his only aim was to push for a tribal candidate and build a strong case for it.

He also urged all political parties to stand united to build consensus for the presidential candidate. Sangma pushed Kalam's case and sought consensus for his candidature cutting across party lines.

He had earlier received support from Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for the post of president even as his own party chose not to support his candidature.

That's the report on India Today. Read

If you've just joined us, the Congress Core Group, headed by Sonia Gandhi and including the Prime Minister and senior Cabinet ministers, will meet
this evening to devise further strategy on the President's election.

Party general secretary and spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi in the first official statement since the PM's name come up as presidential candidate said, that Sonia Gandhi was still in the process of consulting even single-member
parties and in the course of it, two names have come up. "If Congress had decided on the name, two names would not have come up," he said.

Slamming Mamata Banerjee for revealing Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari's names as the Congress candidates, he said, "There is a dignity to the process. When such talks are held, names are not discussed outside," the Congress leader said.

Fazil Jamili, a Pakistani writer is a senior journalist and poet, and Editor Internet, with the Jang Group writes of his experience.

Read

Break from the presidential poll politics to give you this blog.

How one one of our premier educational institutes which has a category for physically handicapped students does not provide requisite facilities on the campus.

Read the student's blog.

The Congress says it is upset with Mamata Banerjee for revealing Pranab Banerjee and Hamid Ansari's names as presidential candidates. Dwivedi says Mamata should not have reavealed the names of candidates in public and by doing so, she breached the sanctity of closed-door talks.

Ms Banerjee may just have gone a little too far this time.

That is the first official reaction of the Congress after the the TMC and the SP snubbed its candidatures. Congress spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi said the party cannot spare the PM. On the names suggested by Mamata, Mulayam, Dwivedi said the party does not accept the names suggested by them and confirmed that Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari's names had inded emerged after initial talks with allies.

"Sonia Gandhi told Mamata Banerjee that the two names had emerged from the discussions with allies. It does not mean they are our candidates yet," said Dwivedi.

The AICC has finally made a statement on the PM as a presidential candidate almost 15 hours after the SP and TMC suggested his candidature. 

Spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi says Dr Manmohan Singh will remain the PM till the elections in 2014. "There is no question of the PM being elevated to any other post," he says. He also said that APJ Kalam and Somnath Chatterjee are not acceptable to the Congress.

This morning after meeting Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee did not speak to the media and left with his customary folded-hand greeting. The other Congress leaders were also tightlipped. Pranab is the Congress's first choice for presidential candidate.

Ally DMKwas represented by TR Baalu, who emerged last out of the meeting with Gandhi. He spoke to the media for a few minutes saying, "Keeping in view of political stature and seniority in public life, my leader Karunanidhi was consulted by Madam last month through Antony. My leader had suggested a name. The name has been communicated by Antony to Madam. Madam at any point of time, will be announcing the decision," Baalu said.

He said the name of the person cannot be divulged as of now and parried questions on whether the candidate is among the five persons whose names have been made public. "Madam will announce it shortly. Not today... At any point within this week," he said. When asked if DMK was fine with Mukherjee's candidature, he said, "it is between the two higher ups. My leader has communicated the matter long back. We stand by it."

The Congress however will announce the name of its presidential candidates in the nest 24 hours.  
   

The Congress top brass, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi, will meet this evening to strategise a response. 

The meeting will be the first formal deliberation of the top leaders of the ruling party, a day after Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh Yadav, came up with the Prime Minister's name as one of their choices in the Presidential race. 

The chiefs of Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party said they could also be agreeable on the candidature of former president APJ Abdul Kalam or former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee.  Mukherjee, who met Gandhi this morning, will be present at the meeting of the Congress Core Group which has senior leaders like A K Antony, P Chidambaram and Ahmad Patel, Political Secretary to Gandhi, as members.

The party needs the support of both TMC and SP to ensure that its candidate
wins. Other allies such as DMK, NCP, RLD and NC, have already
indicated their support for Mukherjee.

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, who has teamed up with supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav to come up with their own names for the Presidential poll, is unlikely to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and has deferred plans
to go back to Kolkata today. 

Banerjee, who sprang a surprise by proposing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's name for the President's post yesterday, was scheduled to take a flight to Kolkata this afternoon but her close aides said she is not leaving the
capital today. Asked about the possibility of Banerjee meeting Singh, Railway Minister Mukul Roy said, "The question does not arise". 

Sources said Banerjee will stay put in the capital and may have discussions with some leaders on the issue. Trinamool sources said the Prime Minister had invited Banerjee for a meeting yesterday but it did not take place as the schedule was not finalised. 

The Prime Minister's invitation to Banerjee came on a day before she met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. After the meeting with Gandhi, Banerjee said Congress' choice for the top post is Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee
and Vice President Hamid Ansari. 

Later, she and Yadav had a meeting during which they came up with the name of the Prime Minister and former President A P J Abdul Kalam and Lok Sabha Speaker Somntah Chatterjee

The name of Dr Manmohan Singh as a possible presidential candidate had done the rounds for some time, but a few days ago, the PM himself had ruled out any such possibility, saying, "I am happy doing what I am doing." 

Sonia Gandhi, too, had heaped praise for his stewardship of the government and the country at the Congress working committee though some Congress leaders had urged the UPA to undertake bold measures to shore up the government's image.

Be that as it may, the Congress' silence over the SP, TMC proposing Dr Singh's name as president is telling.

DMK leader TR Baalu has just come out of his meeting with Sonia Gandhi. He says the Congress will announce the names of the presidential candidates in a day or so. He however said, names were indeed discussed.

BJP senior leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi says the NDA will announce the name of their candidates only after the UPA gives its names.

The Congress Core Committee meeting is scheduled at 5.30 pm today. CNN IBN reports that efforts are on to convince Mulayam Singh Yadav about Pranab Mukherjee's candidature.

Point to note is that the Congress has still not given the names of candidates for the presidential polls. Both Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari's names as choices were given by Mamata Banerjee on behalf of the Congress after her meeting with Sonia Gandhi yesterday.

The BJP still silent on who their candidate is, but it did say earlier on that it was open to APJ Abdul Kalam as a presidential candidate. Yesterday, Kalam was named as one of the three choices by UPA allies Mamata Banerjee and Mulayam Singh, but both stopped short of saying who their first choice was. The BJP is likely to reveal its candidate by June 15.

As of now, the Congress is in a huddle at 10 Janpath.

A day of meetings for UPA chief Sonia Gandhi. After her meeting with Pranab Mukherjee this morning, Sonia is now meeting P Chidambaram and AK Antony apart from senior Congress leaders. DMK's TR Baalu also at the meeting.

Remember, the Congress has still not come out in the open to defend the PM after the SP and TMC named him as a presidential candidate.

The Samajwadi Party says the UPA did not consult them on the presidential candidate.

Yesterday's political manoeuvre by the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool probably put the Congress' initial choice of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and vice president Hamid Ansari out of serious reckoning and opened up the possibility of several scenarios.

Though some Congress sources ruled out the possibility of Singh participating in the presidential race, there was no official response from the party to the odd manner in which SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee mentioned the PM name at a joint press conference.

Home minister P Chidambaram is now meeting Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath.

Sonia Gandhi is releuctant to let go of Pranab Mukherjee and is confident of a consensus over Pranab as president. Insiders say that BJP is expected to back APJ Kalam. Meanwhile, L K Advani will be meeting AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa today.

Other meetings for the day include NCP chief Sharad Pawar's meeting with partymen, a JDU meeting and a Congress Core Committee meeting.

A wave of apparently coordinated bombings and shootings rocked Iraq during a major Shiite religious commemoration today, killing at least 72 people and wounding more than 250, many of them pilgrims.

 
The attacks, which came as pilgrims flocked to a shrine to mark the anniversary of the death of Imam Musa Kadhim, a revered imam in Shiite Islam, were the deadliest in Iraq since August 15, 2011 when 74 people were killed.

 
The targeting of Shiite pilgrims was a stark reminder of Sunni-Shiite violence which tore Iraq apart in 2006-2007 and was condemned by parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, who termed it an attempt "to provoke sectarian strife." 

Baghdad was hit by 10 bomb attacks and two shootings that killed at least 28 people and wounded dozens more, according
to an interior ministry official and a medic.

 
The deadliest attack in the capital saw a car bomb explode in the Karrada neighbourhood of central Baghdad where pilgrims were eating breakfast in tents.

The early morning shooting death of a 33-year-old woman today triggered the search for a trauma surgeon and forced the lockdown of a Buffalo hospital as police combed the grounds for the gunman.

 
A person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press that police are looking for Timothy Jorden Jr in connection with the shooting death of the woman in a stairwell at the Erie County Medical Center.

 
Jorden, 49, a former Army medic who has been licensed to practice medicine in New York since 2002, treats patients at the medical center and other major hospitals in the area.

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