By IANS,
New Delhi : Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar Thursday met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and said he would back the presidential candidate nominated by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
“I told her (Gandhi) that whoever UPA nominates, we will support,” Pawar told reporters after his meeting with Gandhi that lasted about 30 minutes.
NCP, which is a constituent of the UPA, had always maintained that they would support a Congress candidate, despite the fact that their leader P. Sangma is also in the fray for the top constitutional post.
The Congress was stunned after its ally Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee alongwith Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh sprang a surprise Wednesday when they gave three new names — former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chaterjee — for the job. The announcement virtually rejected the two Congress candidates, Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari.