By IANS,
Panaji: Opposition candidate P.A. Sangma Tuesday said that many Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) and Janata Dal-U members have rebelled against their party leadership to back his candidature for the presidential election.
Speaking to reporters here, as part of his nationwide tour to canvass votes for his presidential campaign, Sangma also claimed that the presidential polls have not just caught the imagination of the electoral college, but even the common man.
“You see in Lucknow tomorrow (Wednesday). The entire city has been decorated by the BSP workers which has gone against the party leadership. MLAs (legislators) and MPs from the BSP will be there to support me… Similarly in Patna, JD-U people are backing me by going against their leadership,” he claimed.
“This is the first time that a presidential election is being taken seriously not just by the electoral college, but by the common man,” Sangma added.
Sangma, who has been supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party and some elements of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as well as the AIADMK and the Biju Janata Dal is taking on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate and former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in the July 19 election.