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.