By IANS,
Chennai : AIADMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has been speaking to leaders of various national and regional parties seeking their support for P.A. Sangma’s candidature for the post of president, her party said Sunday.
In a statement issued here, the AIADMK said Jayalalithaa spoke to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and CPI leader A.B. Bardhan as part of garnering support for Sangma, a former Lok Sabha speaker.
She also discussed the matter with Telugu Desam Party leader N.Chandrababu Naidu, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shironmani Akali Dal leader and her Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal.
Seeking their support, she said Nationalist Congress Party leader Sangma, hailing from northeastern region and belonging to a tribal community, is fully qualified to become the president.
On Thursday, Jayalalithaa announced that her party supported the candidature of Sangma for the office of president of India.
She said the decision was arrived at “after due internal consultation” with Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal chief Naveen Patnaik. She said none belonging to the tribal community had ever become the president.