The battle for Rashtrapati Bhavan continues. Today, NCP leader PA Sangma said, "Tribal leaders belonging to all political parties are meeting on May 9 here and our demand will be to make a tribal the next President," Sangma said.

However, the former Lok Sabha Speaker and Meghalaya MP made it clear that he was not a candidate for the President's post. "I am not the candidate. We are trying to meet the leaders of different political parties to agree in principle (tribal candidate for presidency)... After agreeing in principle, we will decide the candidate," he said. 

Asked whether making a tribal the next  President is NCP's view or his own, he said, "This is the view of tribals of the country. This is not view of any political party. We have written letters to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, BJP President Nitin Gadkari, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and NCP leader Sharad Pawar seeking appointments to discuss the issue."